Cherished
by JunsuiFushichou
Summary: [AU fic][R&R] War's on between one who remembers every moment of their past and one who doesn't. What will the outcome be?[ SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaIno]OOC
1. The beginning

First chapter, hope you enjoy it! )

FadingCrescent

No, I DO not OWN Naruto..wish i did, then i wouldn't be writing all these stories

* * *

Cherished

By FadingCrescent

Seventeen year old Uchiha Sasuke rolled over on his luxury bed. It was HUGE especially for one person. His room was covered in posters, awards and his memories. Those memories…of a special girl. A pink-haired one to be exact.

FLASHBACK…

"_Sasuke-kun!" squealed a small pink-haired girl. She was dragging a raven haired boy who was glad to be with this special girl. They both were the same age, the boy just older than the girl by nine months._

"_What is it Sakura? You said you had something important to tell me," asked the boy, raising an eyebrow. They arrived at the bridge where both of them had first met. She lowered her head and her green orbs stared at the ground._

"_Sasuke, I'm moving…to a new town…" she whispered softly. Sasuke's onyx eyes widened. He first lost his family except his brother and now his best friend was leaving him. He could see tears dripping from her pale face and her short bangs covered most of her grieving face. _

"_But I PROMISE you I will come back! To marry you… just like I promised!" She said cheerfully, clasping his hand. He smiled back. Now, no-one would ever see the lonely boy smile ever again…_

END FLASHBACK

Sasuke opened his obsidian orbs. He looked around the room and saw those pictures of his one and true love; Haruno Sakura. Sakura also lost her family when she was younger except for her aunty, who decided she needed to grow up in a new place. He now lived in this empty house all by himself, his brother had gone off to the US to continue their family business.

"When is she coming back? She promised me…" He thought. "I really want to see her smile again…" He went out of his bed and took a long, cold shower. He always thought of her every night before he went to sleep and every morning he woke up. He changed into his uniform and had a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon. Sasuke then went out to his black Jaguar and drove to school. While he left, he was still thinking of that girl who always made him smile.

SOMEWHERE CLOSE…

"Eek! Aunty! Why didn't you wake me up! I need to go tothe new school now!" squeaked a green-eyed girl with an abnormally large forehead. She quickly dressed in her new uniform. Her aunt watched her with pride. Her aunt Shiikure had enrolled her to Konoha High where all the elites went to.

"Gomen! You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn't bring to wake you up!" apologized her aunty, who was making Sakura's breakfast. The girl picked up a piece of toast off the plate and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Pa reh ranty (Ja ne aunty)," Sakura muffled, grabbing her school bag and rushing out the door.

Shiikure sighed. It had been ten years ever since Sakura had last been here. But she doubted it…

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Sasuke drove to school quickly. He had to get there fast, but that didn't really matter because his sensei was ALWAYS late, giving some lame excuse for arriving around 30 minutes after class had started (Guess who). He turned a corner and skidded when he saw a pink blur. Sasuke's eyes widened. There in front of him, stood a pink-haired, green eyed girl. Her forehead was larger than average and she was in his school's female uniform. Sasuke stopped the car and ran out.

"Sakura?" he asked the girl. This time, it was her eyes to widen.

"How do you know my name?" she whispered, looking into his eyes. Sasuke could feel them piercing his mind, just as she had doneten years ago.

"Sakura, don't you remember me? Sasuke!" he exclaimed. How could she not remember the boy she fell in love with?

Her look of shock turned into confusion.

"I don't know a Sasuke…or do I remember one…" she said, without a doubt.

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hope u liked the first chappy 

Sakura: YAY!SASUKE-KUN LIKES ME!

FadingCrescent: sweatdrop

Sasuke: How come I have to fall in love with pinky?

Sakura: HEY! Don't call me pinky chicken boy!

Sasuke: Don't call me chicken boy pinky!

bickering in background

FadingCrescent: sweatdrop

Yeah, I know it was a bit short, just wanted to have a cliffy there

The pairings will be; SASUSAKU (of course!), NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaIno. Itachi will appear sometime but I'm still not sure. And HE'S A GOOD GUY TOO.

Read&Review

The more reviews, the faster I'll update ;)

Ciao! Lots of Love, FadingCrescent


	2. New Sakura? Sasuke's two additudes

2nd chap

Thanks for reading this

I do not own Naruto

Sakura: Whoo! Second chapter!

Sasuke: Shut up pinky

Sakura: What did you say?

Sasuke: Nothing! –hides away-

NOW ON WITH THE STORY

* * *

**RECAP**

"Sakura, don't you remember me? Sasuke!" he exclaimed. How could she not remember the boy she fell in love with?

Her look of shock turned into confusion.

"I don't know a Sasuke…or do I remember one…" she said, without a doubt.

**CONTINUED…**

"What?" Sasuke was shocked. He thought he had finally found her, she had kept her promise… "Isn't your name Haruno Sakura?"

"Yes… but I don't know you," The girl was trembling and her eyes were watering.

"What?" he repeated.

"I lost some of my memories a couple of years ago from an accident," Sakura said kindly.

"_No… Is it possible? She must've lost the memories of me…" _Sasuke thought. His heart fell. He thought she was here to do what she promised. _"Well, I'll make sure she WILL marry me… I'm not giving up until I have my blossom back…"_

Sasuke smiled. He held out his hand.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. Sorry, I thought you looked like someone I knew," he replied. Sakura smiled and shook his hand politely.

"How do you know my name?" she curiously asked. He shrugged.

"Guessing, my lady," he winked at her and caused her to blush. Sakura looked at the watch on her left arm and squeaked.

"Oh no! I'm late for school! Sorry!"

"Wait! You come to my school! Surely I can't give you a lift!" He called to her. She smiled at him, the smile that he got addicted to when he was younger.

"Thank you! You're a lifesaver!" She thanked him and climbed into the passenger seat. He jumped into the drivers and started the engine. They arrived at school just in time.

"SASUKE-KUN! AHH!" A horde of fangirls crashed through the school gate.

"Damnit! Hurry!" Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand and rushed through into the school office. He passed a long corridor.

"Umm Sasuke-san… I need to get to go see the principal?" she said quietly. However he couldn't hear her thanks to the squeals and screams of his loud fanclub. Slowly, she got pissed (Who knew she had a side like this?) and wrenched her hand out of his. He stopped and looked back at her.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? DRAGGING ME ALONG LIKE THAT! I CAN'T YOU SEE I NEED TO SEE THE PRINCIPAL HERE!" She screamed at him. Sasuke just smirked back. Everyone knew Sasuke had the "soft, caring, cold side" only when he was around his closest friends and the "Playboy" side, which pretty much explains itself. Just less than ten minutes ago, this person was a nice gentleman now, he's acting like a complete jerk.

"Don't even think of looking at me like that you stupid jackass!" Sakura pointed her finger at him.

"Would you rather be taken down the corridors or crushed by MY fangirls?" he said smugly. He decided he liked THIS Sakura rather than the shy, bashful one he knew years ago. Sasuke loved playing games with interesting girls rather than a girl who would worship him and kiss the ground he walked on.

"Ne, don't you want to be around me? The HOTTEST, COOLEST, most WANTED guy in the school?" he asked mockingly. Her face grew red. She advanced on him and punched him. One of her "MEGA" punches.

"I thought you were a total gentleman! What a baka…" Sakura stalked off, heading towards the principal's office to get her new timetable.

"Here is your classroom, and your timetable, hope you enjoy this school, Ms. Haruno." Said the Tsunade, the successor of the school. Sakura bowed and exited the room. She looked at her timetable and the classroom she was assigned to. She passed different classes, some boys staring at her as she went pass.

FINALLY, she came to a room with the label, "J124", (meaning Jounin blah blah, you get the picture). Sakura opened the door cautiously and peeked in. There was a silver-haired teacher, holding a small orange book with the title Icha Icha Paradise.

"_Great, so my teacher's total pervert. Joy," _thought Sakura, rolling her eyes inside her mind.

"Oh hello, you must be the new student, Haruno Sakura," he said. One of his eyes was covered by a navy mask that covered most of his face except the right eye. "I'm Kakashi-sensei, welcome to Konoha High". Kakashi-sensei turned to the class and said,

"We have a new student everyone, Sakura, if you can come here please". Sakura hesitantly came over her new sensei and looked at the class. There was a brown haired girl with brown eyes who was sitting next to a pearl eyed, brown haired boy. His hair was long, tied back in a low ponytail. Behind them, was a blonde boy with sapphire eyes, with an enormous grin on his face. Beside him was an indigo haired girl with pale lavender eyes which looked similar to the boy in front. She seemed to be blushing thanks to the person sitting next to her.

A blonde girl with sky blue eyes was chatting to a boy who seemed to be asleep and had spiky black haired in a pineapple hairstyle. Yet, behind them was…

"YOU!" she shrieked. The pineapple haired boy jolted up from the sudden noise. Sakura pointed to the raven haired boy who was smirking at her at the back. He had his arms folded across his chest.

"Hm? You two know each other?" asked Kakashi, a small grin invisible under the mask.

"Tch. Hell yeah," Sasuke answered, closing his black eyes. Some of the other girls in his class swooned.

"_My god… these girls are so retarded… They practically hang at every word this dick says…"_ Sakura thought furiously.

"Well Sakura, can you introduce yourself?" asked Kakashi kindly. She nodded and gave him a warm smile.

"Well my name is Haruno Sakura, I just moved from Sunagakure and used to attend Sand High. I like …stuff and hope to get to know you guys better!" she explained. Sasuke raised an eyebrow when she said she used to reside in Sunagakure.

"_The same place Sakura moved to…" _thought Sasuke. He remember when they were small, she told him that she was going to move to Sunagakure where most of her family friends were.

"Well Sakura, since you already know Sasuke, you can go over and sit next to him!" Kakashi said happily, turning back to his perverted book. A vein popped out of Sakura's forehead and she went off to the back table. His hand lay on the desk and she dropped her books on it.

"Ow! What do you think you're doing!" Sasuke pulled his hand from underneath the pile.

"Quiet you two back there. Who knows what you're doing? Teenagers these days…" sighed Kakashi, turning back to the blackboard, writing equations on it.

Sasuke smirked at her as she sat down beside him. He put his arm around her chair but she slapped him before he could.

"Don't even think about it," snapped Sakura, writing down the sums.

_Damn… this girl's good…" _Sasuke thought as he wrote down what was on the board. He finished all of the problems in less than five minutes including Sakura. He looked over at her and she was closing her eyes, thinking furiously.

"Hey, pinky," He said to her. She opened her eyes and glared daggers at him.

"Don't call me pinky chicken hair," she retorted back. He grinned and leaned over and whispered into her ear,

"Bet you can't resist me…" Sakura scoffed.

"Bet you already fell for me idiot," she said back seductively.

"_That's right… ten years ago…" _Sasuke thought.

"Alright, I'll play your little game. Try not to fall in love with me. I'll give you a month. And I'll try not falling in love with you. If you win…"

"You'll stop being a dick. And if YOU win, I'm all yours." She winked at him and smirked. Sasuke smirked back and held out his hand. Sakura grabbed it and shook it.

"War's on, Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura said.

* * *

Yep, this chapter was LONGER than I expected… 

Hope you're enjoying it so far!

Love

FadingCrescent

Sasuke: Why did you have to put me next to Sakura Kakashi-sensei!

Sakura: Yeah! I don't wanna sit next to him! He smells funny!

Kakashi: -Not answering cause reading perverted book- -giggles and blushes-

FadingCrescent, Sasuke, Sakura: -sweatdrop-

Chapters are coming up every week or less, I have lots of free time... hopefully

Thanks to those who reviewed me!


	3. Tactics

Hi there my fellow "FanFiction" ers ! lol im a bit high right now soo LETS JUST GET ON WITH THE STORY BEFORE I GO PSYCHO !

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Naruto: HEY! WHEN AM I GONNA BE IN THE STORY!

FadingCrescent: You shut up and stay in that cage until I tell you to!

Naruto: -backs away and closes door to cage- Yes ma'am...

FadingCrescent: NOW ON WITH THE STORY!

Sasuke & Sakura: -whisper- I knew she was mental…

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_Italics -_ Memories/thoughts

Normal - Normal!

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Sakura got lost in the crowd, pushing her deeper into the corridor. She was carrying all her books, reminiscing on what happened early in Math class with Kakashi…

"_Alright, I'll play your little game. Try not to fall in love with me. I'll give you a month. And I'll try not falling in love with you. If you win…"_

"_You'll stop being a dick. And if YOU win, I'm all yours." She winked at him and smirked. Sasuke smirked back and held out his hand. Sakura grabbed it and shook it. _

"_War's on, Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura said…_

Sakura went to her locker, J14. She was put near Tenten, Hinata and Ino, just like Sasuke had told her…

"_To make it MORE interesting, you have to hang out with my friends," he said, casually putting his hand behind his head. Sasuke saw Sakura's face turn red instantly. "Don't worry, there's girls too you know"._

"_Which ones? Better not be any of your fangirls or I'll kill you,' she said pinching his cheek lightly. _

"_Don't worry, Tenten, Hinata and Ino have other thoughts," Sasuke pointed at the three girls in the tables in front of them. "And the guys are Shikamaru, Naruto and Neji." He indicated the males sitting next to the girls._

"_Oh, and we sit under the Sakura tree at recess and lunch, meet me there," Sasuke replied. _

Sakura quickly placed her books into her locker and closed it. She paced outside and went to find the large Sakura tree Sasuke had told her about. She past some 12th graders and they wolf whistled at her. She ignored them and was tempted to punch them in the face.

"Hey! Pinky!" Sakura heard the voice to her west. She turned to find Sasuke waving at her with his group of friends. A vein popped out of her forehead and her emerald eyes glazed.

"DON'T CALL ME PINKY CHICKEN BOY!" She shouted at the midnight haired boy who had just scoffed. The six people in front of their desk were all there and all had sweatdropped when Sasuke had called her.

"Hi Sakura! I'm Tenten!" The girl with hazel eyes and brown hair tied into two buns thrust her hand out confidently.

"Ano… Ohayoo Sakura-san, I'm Hinata," said the girl with indigo hair and strange pearl eyes. She was twiddling with her fingers and blushing.

"And I'm Ino!" The blonde haired girl pointed at her chest with her thumb and smiling fondly at Sakura.

"Tch, you're so troublesome…" muttered the boy who was sleeping in class.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY LAZY ASS!" screamed Ino, while Tenten and the other brown haired boy sweatdropped once again.

"That's Shikamaru and I'm Naruto!" The cerulean eyed boy with spiky blonde hair announced happily. His smile was infectious and his eyes had the slight sparkle.

"Hn. Neji," the brown haired boy finally spoke up and looked at Sakura. His eyes were the same as Hinata's.

"Oh yeah and leave me out," complained Sasuke. Sakura nodded happily. She already enjoyed these people. Ino and Shikamaru were still arguing.

"CAN YOU STOP USING THE STUPID WORD TROUBLESOME!" Ino almost burst Shikamaru's ear.

"What's so troublesome about the word troublesome?" Shikamaru asked trivially.

"ARGH!" cried Ino, clutching her head. Tenten and Naruto sweatdropped (Tenten sure likes to sweatdrop).

"_I guess these people will be the people I'll be hanging out with for the rest of the year… I hope. I really like them, such friendly humans…" _thought Sakura, looking around the group. Ino gave Shikamaru a BIIIG punch in the face, Hinata and Naruto were talking about different types of ramens and Tenten and Neji were talking about the latest movie that just came out, while Sasuke just smirked at her.

"What? DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!" she said, pinching his cheek again.

"Heh. We're going to the movies tonight. Better come," he said, rubbing his red muscle. Sakura smiled and nodded.

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Sakura stopped at the large cinema. It was PACKED with teenagers EVERYWHERE! She sweatdropped. How was she supposed to find that stupid dork if he was hidden underneath all these people?

"Hey! SAKURA!" yelled a loud voice. It was near the entrance where all her new friends except Naruto and Ino. Neji was in a beige trench coat while Tenten was in an olive green one. Hinata was wearing a cloak, Shikamaru had a fishnet shirt on and Sasuke was wearing a plain tshirt. Sakura looked down at her clothes. She had a pink tank top with a miniskirt on since it was summer. She hoped she wouldn't attract TOO much attention, but it already did.

"Hey cutie, wanna watch a movie with me? I'll pay?" asked a nineteen year old, holding out tickets in front of her face.

"Piss off loser, she's with us," Ino came through and punched the guy in the face. He rubbed his nose and stalked off. Ino wore a purple jacket with cargos and her hair was in a high ponytail.

"Aw Ino how sweet, but shouldn't you be tending to him?" said Shikamaru, looking over at the male who had an ice pack on his nose (I dunno where he got it from.. so don't ask).

"Meh, beats me, who else are we waiting for?" She asked glaring at the boy who quickly hid behind his friend when he caught sight of her.

"Naruto. He better be here soon or we'll miss the movie," Neji said, glancing at the digital clock on top of the large sign. Sasuke sighed.

"He better not be out eating ramen… or I'll force him to stop for a week". Shikamaru scoffed.

"Like as though he'll be able to survive…"

"I'M HEEEERE!" The group turned to see Naruto, striding up to them in a large orange jacket.

"Baka, you made us wait. What were you doing?" asked Sasuke bumping Naruto's skull.

"Well there was a special on instant ramen at the market, so I decided to.. uh…" He stopped when he saw the looks on Sasuke and Neji's faces. "Let's go inside and watch the movie!"

The small party went inside the overcrowded cinema and sat down, with the girls in front and the boys at the back of them. Sasuke sat in front of Sakura and smirked. He had a trick up his sleeve…

Halfway through the scary movie, Sasuke moved his hand around Sakura's chair. He tapped her shoulder. Sakura, already half freaked out by the show, grabbed her drink and flung it at the attacker behind her. Unfortunately, Sasuke was still behind the seat and had the drink burst onto his face. And to make it even worse, it was Fanta… He hated Fanta. So there he was, orange liquid dripping off his face when they left for the night. Everyone couldn't help laughing, looking at Sasuke's disgruntled face and his eyebrows twitching.

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Over the next few days, Sasuke and Sakura's war never faltered. A couple of pranks which included; Sasuke getting hit in the face with an orange at lunch, Sakura's locker full of spiders, Sasuke's books MYSTERIOUSLY disappearing, which earned him a detention, Sakura's lunch thrown out of the window, dropping onto Gai-sensei's head, an egged black Jaguar and many other things that I can't be stuffed typing or it'll end up as a novel of Sakura and Sasuke's tactics.

"Man… I'm out of strategies…" Sakura thumped her head on her locker. Tenten, Ino and Hinata sighed. They had seen each of them pull those nasty war games and they were tired of those; "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM/HER!" It was too much trouble for them or as Shikamaru thought, "It was troublesome".

"How 'bout you stop playing pranks? Or even better, FALL IN LOVE!" Ino said evilly. Sakura glared at her with her fire-glazing eyes. She had got to know each of them better the past few days, even though it wasn't even a week yet. It was Friday, the day before the weekend and Sakura and her friends planned to go shopping on Sunday.

"Hey Haruno Sakura," said a deep, masculine voice. She turned to see Senior Shikaku Nobuya. Every girl thought he was the BEST, CUTEST, HOTTEST LOOKING SENIOR EVER!

"Oh hello Shikaku-senpai," she bowed to show her respect and smiled at him. He smiled back and said,

"Do you want to go out on a date with me tomorrow?" Sakura stopped breathing for a second. The best senior in the WHOLE school, asking Haruno Sakura, a NEW student on a DATE! Ino and Tenten speculated with WIDE eyes while Hinata had already fainted.

"Uhh…umm… sure!" She stuttered.

"Alright then, can you meet me at the lake near the school on Saturday around 8pm?" She nodded. Nobuya smiled back once again and turned to go out of school.

"Oh… my GOD! DID I JUST HEAR WHAT I JUST HEARD?" screamed Ino. Tenten blocked her ears. "DID HE JUST ASK SAKURA ON A DATE? OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!"

Sakura blushed and nodded shyly.

This week, was sure a big blast for her already.

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Sakura stepped out of her house. Two outings in one week already and another one coming up. She was wearing beige cargos and strapless white top. She wore white sandals and the silver necklace her aunt had given her years ago. It wasn't that cold at night so she didn't bother bring a jacket. She walked onto the path and crossed to go into the park where the lake was. She saw Nobuya there and waved. He waved back and ran up to her.

"Hey, you're on time!" He said. He was carrying a backpack. "We're going to have a picnic, hope you like dumpling and riceballs!" He lay out a blanket and placed the tantalizing food onto it. They sat there, eating and talking. It wasn't until after 9 they started to pack up.

"Wait, I want to bring you somewhere…" He held her hand and led her into an alleyway.

"Nobuya, what's going on?" Sakura asked frighteningly. He was backing her into a corner and she was quivering with fear.

"I… want you Sakura…" he whispered into her ear, nibbling it slightly. He grasped her and began to plant kisses over her body. Sakura gasped. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to get raped in a hostile alleyway. She started screaming. He covered her mouth with his hand and pulled a gun out of his back pocket.

"Say another word and you'll get it," he said possessively. Sakura had tears running down her cheeks and her body shook uncontrollably.

"_Please… somebody…" _She prayed.

"HEY! LET GO OF HER!"

* * *

Yup yup, another cliffy. It's obvious who it is right? Lol anyway next week's update might be going up a bit slower than usual cause I'm off to the snow!

Itachi will appear sooner than expected... I hope

Thanks to the reviewers who read this! Love ya guys! See ya next time!

FadingCrescent


	4. Meetings

Hi there again! Thanks for all those cool reviews! You guys are cool bananas!

Itachi: Ha ha ha! I get to save the damsel in distress!

Sakura: I wasn't a damsel in distress! Stupid FadingCrescent had to make the script that way!

Nobuya: At least we get a million yen for this job!

Itachi: A MILLION YEN! I ONLY GET FIFTY!

Sasuke: Sucker…

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**RECAP**

"_I… want you Sakura…" he whispered into her ear, nibbling it slightly. He grasped her and began to plant kisses over her body. Sakura gasped. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to get raped in a hostile alleyway. She started screaming. He covered her mouth with his hand and pulled a gun out of his back pocket._

"_Say another word and you'll get it," he said possessively. Sakura had tears running down her cheeks and her body shook uncontrollably._

"_Please… somebody…" She prayed._

"_HEY! LET GO OF HER!"_

_**END RECAP**_

Sakura's eyes drifted to the end of the narrow alleyway. There, stood a tall man, with onyx eyes, round with shock. He was wearing a black tshirt with plain jeans and he seemed to be passing by. Beside him stood a red haired woman with jade eyes, wearing a plaid skirt and a white cardigan.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" The man bellowed at Nobuya. He charged at the senior, causing a brawl between them. Sakura fell to her knees, sobbing hysterically. The lady ran up to Sakura, covering her from the dangerous fight.

"ITACHI! Yamedo!" screamed the red haired woman. She had tears in her eyes and Sakura was crying in her arms.

The man named Itachi stopped and allowed Nobuya to break free and run. The stranger came up to Sakura and asked,

"You ok?" His voice seemed vaguely familiar, something that was hidden in the back of her mind for years.

"Are you… an Uchiha?" Sakura slurred. Her vision wavered, trying to focus on the lady and Itachi.

She felt him stiffen. She could feel herself swaying. Then, the last thing she saw, was the red haired person's calming smile…

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Sakura's emerald eyes fluttered opened. She looked around the warm room. She lay in a white bed and her clothes had been changed into black shorts and a long white tshirt that reached her knees. Her eyes rested on the person sitting on a wooden chair beside her bed, fast asleep was…

"Sasuke?" she asked timidly. Sasuke woke up from his doze with a shock. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned widely. Sakura stifled a giggle.

"Awake now? Pinky?" He asked standing up, stretching out his limbs. A vein popped out of Sakura's forehead.

"Don't call me that!" She said through gritted teeth, suppressing her anger. He laughed heartily. She smiled inside her mind with peace. Sasuke's laugh seemed so happy, especially when he was around her.

"Is that the way? Seeing you were unconscious when we tended to you". Sakura's mind jumped.

Then, the thoughts from last night came rushing to her. How stupid was she, to follow a senior, into a deserted alley with no one around.

"Oh… don't remind me…" Her eyes found the sheets very interesting. Sasuke looked down, pretty much ashamed of himself.

"Sorry. My brother found you. He brought you back here," Sasuke said quietly. Her head jerked up.

"YOUR brother?" she questioned. No wonder the mysterious stranger had the same looks as Sasuke.

"Yeah. He's 22 at the moment, he's got a fiancée too," Sasuke answered, looking out the window. Sakura stood up and stood beside him. Outside, it was cloudy grey, with hints that it will rain soon.

"Hey, little bro, whatcha doing?" Sakura and Sasuke turned to see Itachi, leaning on the doorway, smirking at them crazily.

"Tch, nothing. Where's Tsukemi-san?" Sasuke asked his older brother.

"Ohayoo! Hope you like miso soup!" The red haired woman came into the room, carrying a tray with 3 large bowls of steaming soup.

"Sakura-san, meet my fiancée, Akita Tsukemi, you can call her Tsuki-chan!" Itachi introduced happily, aiding his love. Tsuki smiled kindly.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan? We were walking through the park until we heard your scream," She said, placing the bowls onto the bedside table. Sakura nodded slowly. She picked up the miso soup and sipped a little. It seemed… vaguely simple. Simple, but delicious. It was like the way her older sister used to make it when she was still alive.

"Is it good? I added a bit more vegetables than normal," Tsuki added, picking up the tray and walked downstairs into the kitchen. Itachi smiled at his wife-to-be and followed her.

"Oh and Sakura-san, if you're wondering who changed your clothes, it was Tsuki-chan, she thought you didn't deserve to get sick, especially after what you've been through. Hope you didn't think Sasuke was a hentai," Itachi said politely. Sasuke sighed and grinned.

"Hm? What's up?" Sakura asked, looking at his grin curiously.

"I've never seen him smile so much… especially since our whole family died…" Sasuke whispered, looking out the window again. Sakura was thinking hard too. What did he mean by "after what you've been through"? It was like a jigsaw puzzle to her, hints and clues lay here and there for her to discover piece by piece.

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Sakura was back at her house, where her aunt Shiikure lectured her about being around boys who you didn't really know. Her aunt acted like a mother to her, but she understood how Sakura felt at her age, seeing she was only 18 when Sakura was first born.

"Sakura, you didn't even know him properly! And there you were, allowing him to rape you so simply!" Her aunt seemed to go on FOREVER but it actually took only 5 minutes to finish.

"Tsk! I can't believe GIRLS these days! Unbelievable…" Shiikure shook her head and stormed off to make lunch. Sakura just sat there, staring at the coffee table with interest. Her aunty was right. NEVER trust guys you don't know… How much has her aunty taught her over the past 10 years alone with her as company? Even though she made plenty of friends at her old town and school, she always seemed to have a part of her heart missing… She stood up abruptly and went to go help her aunt make some ramen.

-----------------------

Sakura went to school as usual on Monday morning. Ino, Tenten, Hinata and her went shopping at Konoha Shopping mall, having to rent a taxi to carry the rest of their bags.

Sakura sighed. How fun it was to enjoy the afternoon with her new found friends who were sure to be the best friends for the rest of her life.

"Hey, Sakura". She turned to find Uchiha Sasuke closing his Jaguar door and was walking towards her.

"Remember, we still have war on…" He whispered into her ear.

**His voice is so…. Sexy! Ahh! It's so kawaii!**

_WTF! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?_

**Who do you think? I'm your inner self and I know you like Sasuke-kun!**

_Urgh, you are so sick! I'm not going to lose this war!_

**Fine! But I can see into the future and I saw you chasing little mini Sakura's and mini Sasuke's!**

_You are the worst inner self ever! NOW GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_

"Uhh Sakura?" Sasuke's voice broke her spacing off. She jumped back to reality and blushed.

_Man… she looks cute when she blushes… wait, WHAT WAS I THINKING JUST NOW? _

**Duh, it's obvious you like her, saying she's cute and all eh? –nudge nudge-**

_Urgh… not you again…_

**Yes it is me again indeed… by the way… a message from your inner self; YOU LIKE SAKURA! YOU LIKE SAKURA! Hahaha**

_No shit_

**Ok… that wasn't the response I was expecting… -poofs/disappears-**

_Tch… running away again are we?_

**I wasn't running away! Just poofing to go to the bathroom!**

_Excuses, excuses!_

"Uhh Sasuke? The bell just rang?" This time, it was Sakura's voice to bring him back.

"RIGHT!" He ran to his locker with enthusiasm. Sakura stared at him, obviously clueless.

"Ok… That wasn't what I was expecting…" She shrugged and headed to her locker.

-----------------------

Class went by as usual, with Kakashi-sensei being late, once again with his excuses.

"Mornin' class! Hey Sasuke, Sakura, did ya have a good weekend?" –wink wink- Kakashi said as he took the roll.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" Sakura screamed from the back, standing up, toppling her chair over. Tenten and Neji stifled their laughs.

"Hm? How 'bout you Neji and Tenten? I heard you guys had a ball over at the large Hyuuga mansion eh Tenten?" –wink wink-. Neji turned bright red while Tenten whipped out a kunai and shot it at Kakashi's head. He dodged it skilfully and said,

"Tenten, try harder next time ok?" He smiled and sat back on his chair. Tenten fell back into her seat, mumbling words like, "Lousy perverted teacher…"

"WELL! Let's get this class started! Pass this back Neji, you can keep that copy, it'll do you some good one day". Kakashi handed a pile of orange books to the male Hyuuga. He took the one off the top and Tenten took one too. She stared at the cover and shouted,

"SENSEI! IT'S MATHS CLASS, NOT HENTAI CLASS!" She threw the book, labeled, 'Icha Icha Paradise' at his head. It fell perfectly onto his giggling face and knocked him out cold.

-----------------------

Unfortunately, they had to get a replacement teacher for Kakashi while he was taken by a fuming Tenten and Neji who was happy to DRAG his TEACHER down to the sick bay. The replacement was…

"HELLO MY LITTLE FLOWERS OF YOUTH! HOW ARE YOU ALL GOING TODAY?" Gai-sensei shouted, which almost burst the ears of Shikamaru's and Ino's, even though they were sitting in the third row.

"GAI-SENSEI!" A mushroom-haircut boy with REALLY fuzzy eyebrows named Lee shouted.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

It was continuous until a boy shouted,

"SHUT UP AND GET THIS FRIGGIN' CLASS STARTED! IT'S ALREADY BEEN 15 MINTUES SINCE YOU FREAKS STARTED THAT!"

"YES! EAGER FOR LEARNING I SEE!" Gai-sensei bellowed. Everyone except Lee sweatdropped.

The class went on for ages, with Sasuke sleeping on his desk while Sakura gazing out the window. Shikamaru was pretending to listen but he was actually dozing off like Sasuke. Ino was dawdling over her Maths book, Hinata was trying hard to learn carefully, Naruto had somehow smuggled an instant cup of ramen into class, Tenten was sharpening her weapons with a murderous glint in her eyes and Neji was staring at the clock wistfully. Others were learning, seeing how unintelligent they were… well most of them.

MAGICALLY, the day ended, the bell ringing waking up most of the sleeping people. Sakura, Tenten, Ino and Hinata headed to their lockers.

"Man, I'm going to murder that Gai sensei with his youthful crap… and Kakashi sensei with his perverted thoughts going with him to the grave! MUAHAHAHAHA". Tenten murmured evilly. Sakura and Ino sweatdropped while Hinata was too busy rummaging through her locker.

They went out to the front gate. All four of the boys were there waiting for them. Then, Sakura saw someone she hadn't seen in a while. There was a red haired boy with aqua eyes.

"GAARA-KUN!"

-----------------------------

Lol thought I might add a new character inside this story

I decided to change the rescuer to Itachi at the last thought cause I felt like it… Itachi is cool by the way anyway…

Yup yup, I'll be updating normally again or earlier because I might be sick…

Ciao you cool banana FanFictioners

FadingCrescent


	5. Lovers?

Yo once again! How is everybody going? Thanks for reading chapter 5! Hope you enjoyed all my other chapters! I've got a new story up called "The Days of the Uchihas". It's about the Uchiha family, kinda like a sort of sequel to "Us".

Thank you for reading this line! It means you are here to read my story! THANK YOU!

Sakura: Why does our scrip writer have to be so psycho?

FadingCrescent: MUAHAHAHHAHAHA! –scribbles something on paper-

Sasuke: I dunno. –shrugs and gulps down milk-

Tsukemi: Who wants cake?

FadingCrescent: ME! MUAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Sakura, Sasuke & Tsukemi: -sweatdrop-

------ ---SORRY! the line thingy aint working for me!

**RECAP**

_They went out to the front gate. All four of the boys were there waiting for them. Then, Sakura saw someone she hadn't seen in a while. There was a red haired boy with aqua eyes._

"_GAARA-KUN!" _

**END RECAP**

"Gaara-kun!" Sakura ran up to the complete stranger. Sasuke stared on, as Sakura headed towards the fire-headed guy. He could feel the flames flicker inside of him with jealousy.

"Sakura!" The aqua eyed teen ran up to Sakura and gave her a large bear hug. She giggled and ruffled his hair.

"Everyone, this is Gaara-kun. He and I are friends; he lives in Sunakagure where I used to live!" Sakura introduced Gaara to her newly found friends. They each shook hands with him and initiated a conversation with him immediately.

"Wow you knew Sakura-chan? Was she nice? Did she make you good ramen?" asked Naruto curiously. Gaara smiled, he had already made new friends.

"She didn't cook much, she always ended up burning everything. Remember you tried to make lunch for Kankuro, Temari and me, Sakura?" Gaara looked at the pinkhaired bubble head. She nodded in agreement. Sasuke looked on with enviously. He was the only one who didn't shake hands with Gaara and participate in the conversations. He just stood there, with a grumpy look on his face.

"Hey Sasuke, do you want to go to the mall later? All of us are going, including Gaara-kun?" asked Sakura, waving her hand in front of his face.

"_Damn, I can't let the eye-browless freak have Sakura to himself…" _Sasuke nodded and stalked off to his Jaguar.

"Hm, wonder what's up with him?" questioned Neji, tilting his head on an angle.

"Don't worry, he's probably upset that Sakura's boyfriend is here!" Naruto sang. Gaara and Sakura stared at him.

"What? Sakura ain't my girlfriend, she's just my auntie's niece. Which makes her my cousin twice removed," explained Gaara. Sakura nodded once again.

"Wait, what's the twice removed for?" asked Ino, confused.

"Ask Shikamaru, he's the brains," Tenten said, jabbing a thumb in Shikamaru's direction. He opened one eye and sighed.

"I dunno… look in the dictionary or something," He muttered.

"You lazy ass! You gotta get your bum up sometime!" Ino screamed at him, causing everyone around them to stare at them in wonder.

"Tch, then what am I doing now? I'm standing right?" Shikamaru said back at her. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Are they always like this?" whispered Gaara. Sakura nodded wearily. She remembered how in Art class, Ino and Shikamaru were arguing AGAIN, for the fifth time that day. It resulted to flying scissors around the room (thrown by the grand Ino). They both ended up in detention, Ino for throwing scissors around and landing in Sasumi's eye (JUST KIDDING!) and Shikamaru for using the word troublesome too much which annoyed Anko-sensei.

"Ne, Gaara-kun, are you staying anywhere tonight? Or…" Sakura trailed off, drowned by the shrieks of Ino.

"I'm renting a place around here; I thought I'd move since Kankuro and Temari shifted to new schools," answered Gaara, his eyes looking crestfallen. Kankuro and Temari were his older siblings. They cared so much about him, since their parents went insane and commit suicide. That left them in the care of their aunty-in law, Sakura's aunty who was the wife of their true uncle. Ever since then, Sakura always played with them and enjoyed their company.

"Really! You're going to stay in Konoha!" squealed Sakura. She hugged Gaara so tight he began choking.

"Oops. Sorry Gaara-kun!" She let go quickly, allowing him to regain his breath back.

"Well, we better get going, we still gotta go to the mall," said Hinata, who remained quiet throughout the whole process. She grabbed her bag and waved goodbye to her friends.

----

Hinata walked home slowly. There would be nothing to wait for her at home anyway. Her parents were always out, trying to make their business better and her sister was practicing her skills out in the back. The only person left was Neji, who was locked up in his room most of the time. Hinata was a lonely person, the one person she cared about gone…

"_Sawatura-kun!" A five year old Hinata came bounding to a spiky blonde haired boy with cerulean eyes. He smiled sweetly at her. She loved that smile as much as she loved the boy. She wanted to be with him forever, he was the only one who would keep her company. He was her neighbor, the only_ _one she was ever allowed to talk to in the area. Even though there were many kids around the neighborhood, she was only allowed to talk to Sawatura. _

"_Ne, Hinata-chan! What's up?" he asked, his voice dripping with care for the pearl eyed girl. She blushed, at the mention of her name. _

"_SAWATURA! Get back here!" A voice called from the Senshi residence. Sawatura called back, giving Hinata one last smile before heading home. Hinata looked down on the ground, heartbroken. She was about to confess to him, before his mother called him back. She went back to her mansion. _

_---_

_Hinata knocked on the front door of the Senshi house. It was 8pm, the night sky already down upon earth. It was deathly silent in the house, as she slid the front door open. She paced in, each step taken slowly along the wooden floor. Then she stopped, and screamed. There, on the floor, was Senshi Sawatura, bleeding in a pool of blood. His eyes were bloodshot and wide open. A letter was held in his hand tightly gripping on the paper with spots of blood over it. Hinata reached out, grabbing the paper. She fell beside her first love, tears falling down her cheeks. _

_Sawatura, _

_We never told you, but you are adopted. We never loved you and never shall._

_You were found outside our house on the night of today. _

_You can never call us your parents, or your brothers and sisters siblings._

_You do not belong in this family. _

_We will never love you, you are just scum to us. _

_We are not sorry for killing you. Good bye._

_Hinata stared at the piece. Thoughts were racing around in her mind. Adopted? Never LOVED? How could they? How could they not love this amazing person? She thought furiously. If she could avenge him, if she could…_

_Hinata started sobbing. She cried over her love's body. She was only five for God's sake, and she is now suffering from pain that can never be erased. A memory that can never be washed, a stain that will never disappear, in her life forever…_

----

"Wow! Isn't this pretty, Gaara-kun?" Sakura swayed in the summer dress, even though it was fall. Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was dead bored and annoyed that Sakura hadn't asked him anything yet. (Keep in mind, that Sasuke doesn't know that Sakura and Gaara are cousins yet).

"Sakura, don't you think you bought too much?" He said wearily. He pointed to the many bags that littered the floor. It was only half an hour after they started shopping. Everyone else had wondered off, Tenten and Neji going to the weapon shop, Ino dragging Shikamaru to another shop while Hinata and Naruto stayed at the smoothie bar where they all met.

"Oh...heheh…" Sakura scratched her head and thought anxiously.

"Tch, I'm going back to the dobe, ja," Sasuke left the store, irritated.

"Hey, does he like you or something?" Gaara asked Sakura. She blushed furiously and answered,

"Of course not! Sasuke and I have a war going on Gaara-kun! Don't be so dense that I could like someone like him!" Gaara smiled. He remembered when he first met Sakura…

------

"_Hey Gaara, who's the pinky head over there?" Temari pointed to a noticeable girl, crossing the road holding a stack of objects. Gaara, Kankuro and Temari were at the park, sitting on the swings since their aunty needed to help her sister move in. _

_Abruptly, a car came speeding around the corner. A lady behind the girl, holding a box of clothing, rushed up to the girl to stop her, but was too late. The car had already hit the girl, sending the various items flying in the air. The girl's head was bleeding dangerously and the car had sped off, afraid of what had happened. The driver didn't bother to help, Gaara thought angrily. He ran up to the lady who was holding the pink girl in her arms, sobbing and repeating "Sakura, Sakura, please, please please!" Temari and Kankuro followed him, with Temari screaming after the car with a mixture of swear words. _

"_Please, let us help…" Gaara said softly. The lady looked up, her eyes puffy red and her nose was blotched. Then, the girl awoke. _

"_Ne…who am I?" she asked, with confusion. Her words were slurred and her eyes didn't seem to focus properly. The lady gasped, clutching Sakura's head and kissing her forehead. _

"_Hayaku! We need to get her to a hospital!" Kankuro shouted. He led them towards the nearest house and phoned the ambulance. _

_Hours later, Sakura sat in a hospital bed, her head bandaged up. She had regained most of her memories, but some were still blurred in her mind._

"_Sakura, can you tell me who you promised to marry when you left Konoha?" asked Shiikure, sitting on Sakura's bed. Sakura looked at her with her jade eyes._

"_I promised… someone?" She asked quietly, her voice not even above a slight murmur. Shiikure then started crying, sobbing uncontrollably on her hospital sheets. _

"_Is she alright?" Gaara came into the room, hearing the small conversation. Shiikure nodded sadly. Sakura had fallen asleep immediately. _

"_But, Sakura, she promised a young boy, that when she grows up, she will marry him. They were childhood friends, but she doesn't remember anything about him. Not one memory…" Shiikure explained. Gaara swallowed this down. She couldn't even remember the boy she will always love. _

"_But, when she does grow up, I know she will remember. She needs too, for him, and for me…" Shiikure sighed, brushing a stray lock of Sakura's hair from her pale face. Gaara nodded slowly, swearing that he will never tell Sakura anything about her past, for he knows, that she will remember everything single detail of her first and true love…_

-----

Gaara came out of the store, balancing a HUGE pile of shopping bags. He was exhausted. What crazy things he would do for someone he cares about.

Shikamaru only had two bags, dragging back a disgruntled Ino who put on a sulky face. Tenten and Neji had nothing in their arms since the weapons cost a FORTUNE. Naruto was slurping down ramen while Hinata had fallen asleep on the table. Sasuke sat there, with his arms behind his head with a bored expression on his face.

"Everyone's here right?" asked Neji, looking at the small group. Gaara had collapsed on a seat next to Sasuke.

"Ne, Gaara do you want to go back and see aunt Shiikure?" Sakura asked in his direction. Sasuke shot up.

"What? You two are cousins?" he asked suspiciously. Gaara and Sakura sweatdropped and nodded tiredly.

"_Yes… that means Sakura is all MINE! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!" _Sasuke thought.

**HELL YEAH!**

_Hey! Get back, Inner Sasuke!_

**Yes sir.**

**----**

End of chapter 5

Hope you enjoyed it very much! Sorry for the long update! My net kinda got stuffed up when I tried to upload documents!

Chapter 6 coming up next week!

Ja ne!

FadingCrescent


	6. Memories

Heloo again! Thanks for reading my past chapters! I'll be back on schedule once again! Hope you enjoy it!

FadingCrescent

Itachi: I'M BACK!

Sasuke: Who asked you to?

Itachi: FadingCrescent did, since she created me! MUAHAHAHA

FadingCrescent: Yup yup, indeed! –nods in agreement-

FadingCrescent and Itachi starts acting all high and psycho

Sasuke: -turns away- I don't know them

NOW ON WITH THE STORY!

---------------------------------------------

"WAIT! YOU MEAN, YOU ALMOST GOT RAPED!" shouted Gaara. He accidentally knocked the coffee table over, splashing hot tea over Sakura. She screamed and ran around the room in a flurry, waving her arms about, with Gaara repeatedly apologizing. Shiikure sighed and went back to sipping her cup.

"Yes, Sakura almost got raped by a senior at her school," Shiikure said. Gaara stopped. Sakura ran to the bathroom to cool herself down.

"At, her SCHOOL! WHAT DO YOU MEAN AT HER SCHOOL! HE SHOULD BE DEAD BY NOW! HOW DARE HE TRY TO TOUCH SAKURA?" Gaara bellowed. Shiikure covered herself with the tea towel to avoid Gaara's flying saliva.

"Chilax Gaara-kun, he's been suspended for a week," Shiikure answered, lowering the tea towel back onto the couch.

"SORRY AUNT SHIIKURE, BUT HIM BEING SUSPENDED DOESN'T MEAN HE'LL TRY TO RAPE HER AGAIN!" He shouted back, his face red with fury.

"GAARA! CAN YOU SHUT UP FOR THREE SECONDS?" Sakura had come out of the bathroom, in different clothes and her hair matted wet.

That started the argument with Gaara and Sakura, continuously down each other's throats. Shiikure sighed once again and headed to the kitchen to make lunch.

---

Sasuke lay in his luxury bed. He looked at the ceiling, thinking furiously.

"_Sakura has forgotten her memories… OUR…memories…"_ He thought. He was heartbroken, when he heard her say that, she didn't know a Sasuke. His heart torn into two. He couldn't bear the pain, but he had to survive, in case Sakura remembered who he truly was, who he had always loved, all his life. Sasuke rolled over, looking at his alarm clock. It was 10.12pm, almost time for bed, he thought. He rolled again, this time to fall off his bed.

"_Itei… I'm such a fool…"_ Sasuke considered, plopping back onto his bed.

---

"_Ne! -------kun!" A pink haired girl cried. She latched herself onto a boy, around her age. _

_**Why, was the boy's name blurred? And why can't I see his face? **_

"_Sakura!" She heard the boy call her name. His voice was soft, and kind. Even though Sakura couldn't see his face, she could tell that he smiled. _

_**Why does he feel familiar? Like I've known him all my life?**_

_Suddenly, everything started to fade away. The blurred boy, her surroundings. _

_**Wait! I didn't get to see his face! Or know his name!**_

Sakura woke up. The dream she had, it felt like a lost memory had returned back to her. She clutched her heart and closed her eyes. The boy, she felt so happy around him. But yet, she didn't get his name, or how he looked. Beads of sweat fell from her face and salty tears traced around her peach face. All through the night, she cried and thought endlessly, trying to retrieve that lost memory.

----

Sakura went into the school. She was exhausted, after staying up all night. She was sleepy and had slumped her way to school.

"Hey, Sakura, you okay?" asked Tenten worryingly. It was lunchtime and they were inside the cafeteria, waiting for Neji and Naruto to buy their food. Hinata went to the bathroom with Ino and Sasuke and Shikamaru were in detention for sleeping during Science class.

"Yeah, I think I regained another memory again," said Sakura, smiling at her caring friend.

"Really? That's great!" answered Tenten. She turned back to the line, tapping her foot impatiently. Sakura stood there, rubbing her forehead and was lost in thought.

Five minutes later, Neji and Naruto came back with a veggie roll and an instant cup of ramen (Guess for whom?). Ino and Hinata were outside, with seniors crowding around them.

"Hey! Get away from Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted at them. They dispersed and left the two girls looking confused.

"You okay, Hinata-sama?" asked Neji, approaching his cousin. She nodded quickly and accidentally bumped her head on a pole.

"Itei!" She said, rubbing the large bump that appeared on her head. Ino and Tenten sweatdropped while Sakura giggled.

"Yo," they turned around to find Shikamaru and Sasuke walking towards them.

"How was detention?" Sakura asked. Shikamaru looked away, while Sasuke grunted.

"We need to go again since we fell asleep during it," Sasuke answered. A vein popped out of Ino's forehead. She headed over to Shikamaru and bopped him on the head.

"What the? WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" He complained.

"For being a baka! GET SOME MORE SLEEP IF YOU'RE TIRED!" Ino screamed at him. Everyone else shook their head. Here we go again…

---

"_Sakura…" Sasuke whispered. She was walking away from him, tears falling from her face._

"_No…I don't know you… Get away…" She murmured. Her hair obscured his view of her pale face. His heart stopped beating. He could feel it pause. It didn't start once again. He felt himself falling into darkness…_

_Then the scene changed._

_It was the younger Sakura, smiling at him. He could feel like he was moving by himself._

"_Hello, Sasuke…" She whispered to him. He looked up at her. She smiled and looked down at the river where they used to play. He looked at his surroundings. They were back at Konoha city, where both of them used to live as young children._

"_Hello…Sakura…" He said back. He went to lean on the railing beside Sakura, as she watched the water ripple by._

"_You need to help me regain my memories, Sasuke. You need to help me unlock me past. Please…" She said to him. He looked at her, confused and his eyes wide. She giggled at the sight and faded away. He reached out to grab her but she had already disappeared. Sasuke began to cry. _

The REAL Sasuke woke from his dream. He touched his hair which was wet from perspiration. The dream, was it real? Did the young Sakura, ask him to return the memories to Sakura? He sat there, thinking until he fell back to sleep unknowingly.

---

Hinata sighed and looked out her window. It was 1am but she couldn't sleep. She looked again, then rubbed her eyes. Could it be that Naruto was outside the Senshi house that was abandoned years ago? She ran out of her mansion and opened her gate quietly. Naruto stood there, with a serious look on his face which was rarely seen. He stood in front of the large house, staring into the windows.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay? It's 1 in the morning," Hinata said. Naruto looked at her and asked,

"Hinata-chan, does anyone, live here anymore?" She froze. Tears started welling up in her eyes and answered,

"No, Naruto-kun, everyone in that house left…" Naruto stared, dumbstruck.

"Because… my twin brother, is said to had lived here…"

----------------------------------------

OMG! A CLIFFY! AMAZING! Sorry that was sarcasm!

Hope you enjoyed this chappy! And Hinata doesn't stutter anymore!

Sorry this was so short, I JUST WANTED THAT CLIFFY!

FadingCrescent


	7. Loss

Hello again everybody, I am back indeed! I'm in a foul mood this week coz I found out Kakashi Gaiden ain't coming out till episode 203 and Bleach didn't come out last week and etc etc. I am also very sad, coz Steve Irwin (Australian Crocodile Hunter) died on the 4th of September this week too. SHOCKED AND APPALLED. Anyway, I would like to dedicate this story in his memory. Rest In Peace, Steve Irwin.

ANYWAY, I would like to tell people that SAKURA will NOT be getting all her memories in one piece, but broken up into parts. So to make a long story short, YES SHE WILL REGAIN HER MEMORIES AGAIN!

And NO, Sasuke will not be telling SAKURA what he just saw.

----------------------------------------------------------------

**RECAP**

"_Naruto-kun, are you okay? It's 1 in the morning," Hinata said. Naruto looked at her and asked,_

"_Hinata-chan, does anyone, live here anymore?" She froze. Tears started welling up in her eyes and answered,_

"_No, Naruto-kun, everyone in that house left…" Naruto stared, dumbstruck._

"_Because… my twin brother, is said to had lived here…"_

**END RECAP**

Sakura tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn't sleep even though she had a rough day trying to get away from the irritating Sasuke. He smirked and smirked, until she FINALLY punched him during English. THAT caused Sasuke and her to attend detention on Thursday with Kakashi-sensei the following week.

"_I want to see that boy again… Who is he? He makes me feel so special and warm inside. Wait, was he… my boyfriend?"_ Sakura started shaking. Then crying. Her heart hurt so much; she wanted to see his face, to know who he was and how he looked like.

"_I'll do, whatever it takes, to know who he is, his true identity..."_

----

Sasuke lay in bed. His face still felt raw and Tsuki already gave him an ice pack.

When he came back from school, Itachi laughed when he saw his little brother's face all red and bruised. Tsuki just gave him a reassuring smile and headed to the fridge to grab a cooling pack. When he slapped the cold bag onto his face, he told them Sakura had punched him for just smirking at her. Itachi burst out laughing but Tsukemi, who was drinking tea, dropped the cup with a SMASH!. Itachi stopped and helped his fiancée pick up the ceramic shards that covered the tile floor. She apologized repeatedly and went to get a damp cloth to wipe the mess. Itachi stood up and sighed.

"What's wrong nii-sama?" Sasuke asked. Itachi looked at his younger brother, holding the ice pack to his face.

"Tsuki's been acting weird ever since she met Sakura. She's been staring out the window for hours and thinking," Itachi explained. He shrugged and went off to find his fiancée.

"_That dream… I should tell everyone…" _Sasuke reached to grab his phone. He scrolled through his contacts. He reached Narutos' name and called. The phone was switched off and/or unavailable. He called Hinata but she too, didn't respond. Sasuke hissed and placed his Samsung SGH –Z540 on his bedside table. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. He thought furiously, not noticing that he had fallen asleep.

-----

Sasuke woke up with a start. He looked at his alarm clock. 6.35am The time I wake up. It was still early for someone like him to wonder around school. Not caring, he took a cold shower and went to school in his sexy black Jaguar.

When Sasuke arrived at school, 30 minutes TOO early, he saw Neji looming around the school gates.

"Hey Neji, what's up?" Sasuke asked. During middle school, he and Neji used to be the worst of friends, but now, they were much closer.

"Hinata-sama wasn't in her room this morning. She's gone somewhere," Neji answered, looking up at the obsidian eyed Uchiha. Sasuke cocked his head on an angle.

"Hn. Anyway, I had a dream where the "Younger" Sakura told me to help her "regain" her memories." Sasuke said, looking at the large Sakura tree that was across the road from Konoha High. Neji stared at Sasuke and said only three words;

"Don't tell her (Haha bet you thought it was I love you, BUT IT'S A SASUSAKU FIC!)" Sasuke stared back at Neji with wide eyes.

"What? Don't tell her? It's her memories, I should tell her!" Sasuke shot back icily.

"So? It's part of your memories too. She told us she regained a memory. We're not even sure which memories she regained. But just don't tell her. She probably thinks you're not the guy that she used to love ya know," Neji explained.

Sasuke fell silent. The punch, everything she thought about him, that was true, she probably would never believe him if he told her that he was supposed to help regain those precious memories of hers.

"Oh hey Tenten," Neji's resounding voice broke Sasuke out his thoughts. Tenten came bounding to them, her hair tied in those oh-so-familiar buns.

"Hey guys, I went to stop Naruto from eating ramen this morning, but he wasn't there! Do you know anything about it?" Tenten asked curiously. Obviously, she was out of breath from running for location to location.

"Nope. Same for Hinata over here," said Sasuke before Neji could open his mouth. It was oh-so-clear that Neji liked Tenten. Sasuke just saved Neji's ass before he could say a bundle of words tumbling after another.

"Really? Well, do you think… Hinata and Naruto… spent the NIGHT together? I mean, Hinata does like Naruto…" Tenten said thoughtfully. Neji stared wide eyed at Tenten.

"WHHAAAAT!" Neji burst out. Sasuke and Tenten jumped back from sudden yell. –silence-

-tumbleweed passes by, someone coughing in background-

"You didn't know?" Tenten asked. A vein popped out of Neji's head. Sasuke backed away from the couple, looking into the school grounds.

"YOU MEAN YOU TWO KNEW ALL THIS TIME AND NEVER TOLD ME?" Neji's voice broke one of Sasuke's eardrums.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW, SEEING YOU ARE HINATA'S COUSIN!" The argument kept on going and going until the gates finally opened. They continued squabbling until Sakura came, startled at the two lovers jumping down each others throats.

"What are they doing?" mouthed Sakura to Sasuke, pointing a finger at the quarrelling pair.

"I dunno," Sasuke mouthed back, both of them giving each other a smile before heading to their lockers.

Ino had already arrived at the lockers, after passing Neji and Tenten, staring wide eyed at both of them.

"Hey what's up with those two lovebirds?" Ino asked as Sakura reached her locker. Sakura shrugged and started her locker combination. 12, 48, 35. She pulled down her lock but it wouldn't budge. –twitch twitch-

"SASUKE!"

**WITH SASUKE…**

Sasuke smirked inwardly to himself. He was such a genius, asking Shikamaru to swap Sakura's lock with his, which, unfortunately, she didn't know. Sasuke walked to his locker location and opened the lock. 12, 48, 35. He opened it simply and flung the door open. Out spilled; a dead cat, a bag of doggy doo, a 5kg weight which sadly decided to land on his foot. Sasuke screamed and tried to drag his foot from under the heavy iron block.

"Sasuke! I believe you have my LOCK!" Sasuke looked up and saw an overpowering Sakura standing in front of him. She held up his lock which unluckily, was broken MYSTERIOUSLY. She dropped it on his head and grabbed her one. She left him there to SUFFER from the pain she had just inflicted on him.

-----

Gaara flicked through the pages of the photo album. There were pictures of him, Sakura, Kankuro and Temari. All together, playing happily in the large sand dunes near the coast of Sunagakure. He smiled to himself as he turned each page carefully. But most pictures were of her smiling with Gaara beside her. She had always thought of him as an older brother she never had. He remembered the day he had first introduced himself to her…

_Sakura had stayed in the hospital. She had barely said anything, her green orbs empty and cold and her pink hair hung loosely around her pale face. Shiikure sat beside her everyday to tend to Sakura. _

"_Aunt…Shiikure…" Sakura whispered. Her voice was so soft that you had to strain to hear the girl talk._

"_Yes, Sakura?" Shiikure asked hopefully. Her face lightened up, hoping Sakura could at least remember one single memory of the raven haired boy._

"_Who…is… that?" Sakura pointed to the doorway where Gaara stood. He brought in a bouquet of daisies and orchids, as Shiikure said those were one of Sakura's favourite flowers. _

"_Oh, that's-" Shiikure was cut off by Gaara placing a gentle hand on Shiikure's shoulder._

"_I am Gaara. We helped you when you had the accident," Gaara explained slowly. Sakura nodded. She smiled lightly at him and said,_

"_Thank-you… very much". Gaara smiled back at her and sat on the seat next to Shiikure. He spent hours talking to her. He began to visit her for an hour each day and he always brought her some pictures of places or his siblings._

_Soon, Sakura was up and back to her cheerful old self. That was when she found out Gaara, Kankuro and Temari were her cousins. She would always smile when they came over on the holidays and they would go to different places to explore each day. _

_When Temari was 20 while Kankuro was 19, they both moved to different places to get jobs. Temari wanted to create a windmill company and Kankuro believed he would make puppets. Gaara and Sakura were left, but since Sakura had to go back to Konoha, Gaara was left alone. _

_After only a couple of days, Gaara was lonely. That was when he decided that he would move. He packed his belongings and moved away from the place he had been all his life. He bid goodbye to his aunt and left unnoticed in the darkness of Sunakagure._

_-------_

Tsuki sat on the large king sized bed in her fiancee's room. He had left to get groceries for dinner that night which would be beef stew. In her hand, lay a letter yet to be open. She had written it a couple of weeks before and yet, she still hadn't told Itachi. She didn't want him to know.

"_What do I do… Kami-sama, help me… get rid of this pain in my heart and soul… cleanse me…"_ She thought sorrowfully. Tsuki stood up and went out of the room, still holding the letter clutched in her hand. She headed to the kitchen table and grabbed her car keys. She then left the house, without a backward glance at the large Uchiha mansion.

--------------

Sasuke slumped on the desk. He was so bored, especially since it was History with Asuma-sensei who was the son of the 3rd principal of the school. Sakura was listening attentively at Asuma, scribbling notes down on her book. Ino and Shikamaru were sending notes to each other, mostly with capitals words from Ino. Neji and Tenten were glaring daggers at each other after the long argument which earned them a detention with Sasuke and Sakura on the same day. Both Hinata and Naruto still weren't there, missing out on the whole day of school. Sasuke glanced at the clock. It was 2.23pm.

"Yo," Everyone's head turned to the doorway where Kakashi was standing. He was holding his orange book and he seemed to be panting heavily.

"What is it, Kakashi?" Asuma asked, lighting a cigarette. Everyone turned their heads from teacher to teacher like an interesting tennis match.

"I need to see Sasuke, and also Haruno Sakura," Kakashi gasped. "It's urgent!" Asuma nodded and allowed Sakura and Sasuke to leave. Sakura stood up with a bewildered look on her face while Sasuke had the serious-but-bored look. All three of them left the classroom and headed for the office.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong?" Sakura asked the mask covered pervert.

"Sasuke's brother called. He said Tsukemi was involved in a car accident," Kakashi responded. Sakura gasped while Sasuke's eyes widened.

"What?" Sasuke whispered. They arrived at the office and there stood Itachi, his face broken up and saddened.

"Sasuke, Sakura, quickly. We need to get to the hospital," Itachi said quickly. He grabbed Sasuke and Sakura's arms and pulled them out the door. He nodded at Tsunade and Kakashi and left the building.

-----------

"Itachi, what happened to Tsuki? And why is Sakura coming?" Sasuke asked his older brother. He sat in the front passenger seat while Itachi drove. Sakura sat in the back, tears silently pouring down her face.

"She got hit. Well, she was the one who hit the other person the accident. She drove on a red light. She's usually so calm," Itachi answered.

After 10 minutes of driving, they reached the hospital. They rushed into Tsuki's room and saw a doctor shaking his head.

"No…no… NO!" Itachi screamed. He held Tsuki in his arms and sobbed into her shoulder. Sasuke stood there, frozen from the scene that was unfolding in front of him. Sakura started crying too, leaning on Sasuke for support. He lifted his hand and placed it on the soft pink hair and started trying to sooth her. She cried uncontrollably while Itachi still held Tsuki, wetting the hospital gown she wore. Her body was limp while her red hair streaked her pale face like a river drawn over her face.

-----------

_Tsukemi_

_Last name unknown_

_Born 3rd of May _

_Died 12th of February_

_Loved fiancée, wonderful sister-to-be_

Sakura stared at the gravestone, lowering the bouquet of flowers on the mound of dirt that covered Itachi's dear love. Itachi had broken down in front of it allowing his younger brother seeing his one and only weakness.

"Sakura," Sakura turned to see a red eyed Itachi holding out a letter. It had her name printed out on it in fancy handwriting which must have been Tsukemi's.

"This was found with her when they removed her from the car. She had a whole stack in the back seat which they already distributed out to the people addressed to. But yours was beside her and clutched in her hand," Itachi told her, placing the letter into Sakura's damp palms.

"_I'll open it later,"_ she thought. She pocketed inside her black coat which she wore for the funeral. Everyone was there, including Hinata and Naruto who mysteriously appeared the day after Tsukemi died. She looked up at the grey sky and entered the car with Sasuke and Itachi back to the Uchiha mansion.

When they came reached their destination, Sakura placed herself onto the couch. Itachi went upstairs to find Tsuki's clothes while Sasuke headed towards the kitchen to make tea. She put her hands into her pocket and found the letter. She pulled it out and stared at it nervously. Sasuke came with the tea. She thanked him quietly and opened the letter. She held the mug while reading.

Abruptly, she dropped the cup. A SMASH entered the silent house. Itachi and Sasuke raced to the living room where Sakura was. Her hand placed over her mouth and the cup pieces scattered on the floor. The two Uchihas could see a tear drop from Sakura's porcelain face.

"Tsuki… she said… in the letter… that she… she... SHE WAS MY SISTER!" Sakura said in disbelief.

--------------

WOW ANOTHER CLIFFY FOR ME!

Like I said in the start, this is dedicated to Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter of Australia. Rest in Peace, Crikey.

Next chapter will tell what happened to Naruto and Hinata.

(NO DON'T GET DIRTY THOUGHTS!)

Bye bye

FadingCrescent


	8. Sanctuary

Chapter 8 of Cherished is here!

I changed my penname to KieruMinazuki which means FadingCrescent in Kanji I think…

REVIEWS PLEASE, POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES!

**RECAP**

_Abruptly, she dropped the cup. A SMASH entered the silent house. Itachi and Sasuke raced to the living room where Sakura was. Her hand placed over her mouth and the cup pieces scattered on the floor. The two Uchihas could see a tear drop from Sakura's porcelain face._

"_Tsuki… she said… in the letter… that she… she... SHE WAS MY SISTER!" Sakura said in disbelief._

**END RECAP**

**BEFORE THAT…**

Hinata had found Naruto outside the Senshi residence. He told her his twin brother was said to live there…

Hinata and Naruto stepped inside the cold manor. The floorboards creaked with each step the teenagers took. Dust settled around the bare floor, and cobwebs hung from ceiling corners. Hinata could see the events of her most dreaded night happen before her eyes. Naruto looked around silently, observing the dwelling where his brother used to live.

"Naruto-kun… How… how do you know… that Sawatura-kun… is your niisan?" Hinata whispered. Her quiet voice echoed throughout the whole house. Naruto looked at her with his cerulean eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. Hinata took it with trembling hands, looking into Naruto's eyes which clearly showed a feeling she had never seen before. She grasped it tightly and spread it out to read it.

_Naruto, _

_I know you would probably dislike us now. We, your parents, have abandoned you, from an illness that spread in our family. We are truly sorry, for leaving you alone. _

_But, we need you to know, that you have a twin brother. He is currently living at a place called the Senshi's. We want you to go find him. He is of your blood and most likely, the only person left in your family._

_We are truly sorry my dear son. Your brother's name, is Sawatura. Look for him, and live a life with joy and happiness. _

_Take care of each other. I beg of you, do not give up. _

_Your parents, Yellow Flash and Amina (made her up). _

Hinata stared at the sheet, shaking. So Naruto was really the brother of Sawatura. Suddenly, both of them found themselves in the living room, where Sawatura had died. She knelt down and touched the exact spot where Sawatura was murdered. She broke down, banging her fists onto the grimy floor. Naruto was shocked and heaved her up. She fell onto his lap and started sobbing. Naruto, understanding the situation clearly, pet her head and whispered soothing words into her ear. Her crying died down slowly and Naruto sat there, with Hinata in his arms. He lifted her head to look into her pearl eyes. Slowly, they neared. As soon as they were about the kiss, the grandfather clock stroke 2 in the kitchen. This woke them from their senses. Hinata and Naruto blushed a deep red and sat up quickly.

"Well… I guess I should be going back…" Naruto made to move out of the house when Hinata quickly grabbed his hand.

"Um.. can we stay here?" She asked quietly. Naruto smiled and sat down beside her. Hinata leant on Naruto's shoulder and fell asleep. Naruto looked down at the indigo haired girl and smiled again. She looked so peaceful and vulnerable. He could feel something inside of his mind stir. Before he could stop himself, he gave Hinata a quick peck and fell asleep...

----

Hinata shot up. The clock in the kitchen rang. 1, 2, 3 rings. It was already 3! Hinata turned and saw Naruto laying there, his arms sprawled over her stomach, like as though he was hugging her while she slept. She smiled at him and shook him awake. His blonde hair untidy and knotted, and his sapphire eyes gleaming in the bright sun, he looked like a fox. He grinned at her and thanked her for helping him.

As she waved him goodbye from her house, she could feel a flame flicker inside her body.

---------------

**PRESENT TIME WITH SASUKE AND SAKURA…**

Abruptly, she dropped the cup. A SMASH entered the silent house. Itachi and Sasuke raced to the living room where Sakura was. Her hand placed over her mouth and the cup pieces scattered on the floor. The two Uchihas could see a tear drop from Sakura's porcelain face.

"Tsuki… she said… in the letter… that she… she... SHE WAS MY SISTER!" Sakura said in disbelief.

Sasuke stared at her. His heart stopped for 2 seconds and started thudding loudly immediately. He looked at Itachi for answers. Itachi just stood there, no emotion in his face, his hair willowing across his face.

"Sakura, it's going to be ok…" Sasuke whispered, reaching his hand out for her.

"No n-no!" NOTHING'S ALRIGHT!" She screamed dropping the letter. She jumped up and ran out the door, her tears plummeting to the ground. She ran out the door and scampered out into the cool air. Sasuke made to chase her but Itachi just placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Itachi shook his head solemnly. He walked over to the letter and picked it up.

_Haruno Sakura_

_Sorry. I am sorry_. _I do not deserve to be your older sister._

_When our parents were getting murdered, I saw the scene unfold before my eyes. I couldn't bare the pain and rushed to grab you. But when I was running for our lives, the bandits chased after me and whipped me. I was taken away by them. I left you in the care of our aunty. _

_I am sorry for not being there to protect you like an older sister should. _

_I tried high and low to find you. And when I heard you scream, when I first saw your vibrant pink hair again, I was relieved. _

_But, I left you. I left you alone with only aunt Shiikure. I am sorry my dear sister._

_Sorry I am no longer on this world to protect you. But I will be watching down from heaven, to shield you. _

Sasuke read over Itachi's shoulder. He couldn't believe that his brother's fiancée was actually Sakura's sister. No wonder they smelt the same, cooked the same and acted the same way. Tsuki was always happy and bubbly, like a child with her parents. But yet, both he and Itachi knew nothing of her past or family. All she told Itachi was that her parents were gone. She never said she had siblings. All Itachi knew was that he was blinded by her beauty and personality. Itachi loved her like he loved no one else; Sasuke could see this like looking through a window. Something so simple, something so precious to Itachi would be his one love, Tsukemi. She had told him her last name was Akita, but she said it was a temporarily name she had adopted for herself.

Suddenly, thunder roared outside the window of the Uchiha household. Sasuke shot his gaze towards the windowpane. It was pouring heavily, the roads soaked in cleansing liquid from the heavens.

"_A sign….from Tsuki…"_ Sasuke thought, as he went to his room to call his friends. They needed to find Sakura, no matter what.

-----------

Sakura stumbled across the pathway of the city. It was raining and cars passing by splashed her black skirt and jacket. But she didn't care. All she wanted was her real sister back. To hold her in her arms like a mother would, to say calming words that soothed her each night like a lullaby.

Tears flowed from Sakura's eyes like a river. Never had she wanted anything more. She wanted to know Tsuki better, for a lifetime.

She reached the park where Nobuya and she had their date. The alleyway was close by, swarmed with drug dealers and yakuza. She remembered that was the first place she met Tsuki and Itachi. They defended her from Nobuya. How much she had to pay back from the care of Itachi and Tsuki had given her.

She passed the alleyway and arrived at a new destination; a small corner, where apartments were stacked and hidden away from the world. She crawled over to the corner and started sobbing her heart out.

---------

Tenten came out her bathroom. Her home phone was ringing. She lived alone in a small apartment close by to the city of Konoha.

"Hello?" Tenten answered. Suddenly, a pack of voices rushed out of the receiver end. She pulled back, from the loud commotion her six friends made.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING!" Tenten screamed back. Everyone silenced.

"Sakura's gone," Sasuke was the first to reply to her question.

"What?" Tenten put her serious face and asked.

"She ran out of my house. She ran out crying. I called her aunt's house but she's not there. So she's out there… somewhere," Sasuke said quietly.

"Ok, everyone, meet at my house in 15 minutes and we'll split into groups to find her." Neji quickly managed to strategize.

"Why our house?" Hinata asked.

"Because I don't like rain…" Neji said rapidly and left the conversation.

-------------

Tenten reached the Hyuuga mansion within 14 minutes. She only took her warm waterproof jacket along with her. She didn't like carrying umbrellas because she knew it would slow her down on the hunt or a raincoat simply because she didn't own one. Everyone else was there, waiting outside the large iron gates except Neji and Hinata who were inside getting ready.

"Ok," Neji stepped out and closed the gates. Hinata followed him, wearing normal clothes with a bulky jacket. Ino had brought her dark purple trench coat while everyone else had umbrellas or raincoats.

"Alright, girls in one group, me and Sasuke in one and Naruto and Shikamaru." Meet back here in 2 hours if you don't find her," Neji swiftly answered. Everyone nodded and split.

-----------

"Half an hour left," Ino said, checking her watch. They had already gone to cafes, shops and even the cinemas just to find their hot headed friend. It was still pouring, with no sign of the water ceasing.

Tenten, Ino and Hinata ran to the park close to Sakura's house. That's where they usually met before going out. The three female teens scanned the area without any luck. They went down the road beside the reserve, passing suspicious alleys and homes. Suddenly, they caught sight of pink, wrapped up in black. They dashed up to it immediately and cuddled their dear friend.

"Nee….san…" Sakura whispered as she felt the warm bodies press close to her.

"No Sakura, it's us… Tenten, Ino and Hinata…" The indigo girl cried. Her warm tears fell to the cold concrete.

"Tenten.. Ino… Hinata.." Sakura murmured softly. Sakura wrapped her arms around the three of them, hugging them tightly. "Thank you…"

The four best friends started crying together, knowing nothing would ever break their bond.

Sasuke and Neji passed by. They saw their four females, huddled in the corner of dim passage. Sasuke could feel his heart warming, from the sight of the four girls holding each other. He went over to them and picked Sakura up.

"Sasuke…"she whispered. She fell asleep in his arms on the way back as he carried her back to his home. They all followed the pale girl sleeping soundly in the masculine Uchiha's arms.

As Sakura slept, she thought of how great her friends were. They were like the shelter from the rain, the wall from fire. They were her sanctuary.

**BACK AT NEJI/HINATA'S PLACE…**

Shikamaru and Naruto stood outside the gates impatiently. They kept checking their watches.

"Where are they?"

End of story

WAAAHH! NARUTO AND HINATA FLUFFINESS IS THE BEST!

I thought it up already so it was simple for me to type it up!

I couldn't think up an ending though, so I thought I'd leave it with the ramen lover and Mr. Troublesome.

HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

KieruMinazuki


	9. Kisses Galore

Cherished chapter 8.

Thank you for all those reviews! Keep them coming, negatives and positives. THANK YOU

-----------------------------------------------------------

Sakura's jade eyes fluttered open. The sunlight that streamed through the window hit her face and she tried to block it away. She flopped back down, noticing that she once again was in Sasuke's room. Her clothes have been changed into a large black tshirt that covered her knees and a pair of cotton pants. Her funeral clothes lay at the end of king sized mattress, dry and clean. Last nights events came flooding to her.

"_Tsuki… she said… in the letter… that she… she... SHE WAS MY SISTER!"_

"_No n-no!" NOTHING'S ALRIGHT!"_

"_Tenten.. Ino… Hinata.. Thank you…"_

"_I'm moving to a new town…"_

'Wait a second that last line wasn't there!' Sakura thought, with a confused look plastered on her toned face. She stood up and went to the mirror, staring at her hair. Shocked at the image that appeared on the reversing glass, she tried to pat it down. Sakura changed into her clothes and went down the stairs quietly. She could hear Itachi's snore from down the hallway and the soft panting of someone's on the couch. She peeked into the living room to see a midnight haired male, sleeping peacefully. He was sprawled in an awkward position. Sakura stifled a giggle and headed towards the kitchen. She scribbled a messy note and left it on the humming fridge. As she went to leave the Uchiha mansion, she silently moved to Sasuke and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she left.

-----------------

Ino tossed on her bed. It was a Sunday morning, nothing interesting to do. What she wondered about, was the strange dream she had before…

_Ino strolled through the field full of sunflowers. _

"_Shika!" Ino cried, running towards the pineapple hair do that was buried in the meadow. _

"_Ino!" Shikamaru came, with his arms spread open, embracing her as soon as she hit his chest._

'Ok, that was a bizarre hallucination…' She thought as she stood up and went to change her clothes.

**Hello Ino-pig.**

_Wah! Who are you!_

**I am your friend! Do not worry…**

_Yeah sure, you're my friend, you didn't even answer my question!_

**Fine. I'm Inner Ino.**

_What the hell is that?_

**Duh! Inner you! And I know you like Shika! Meow!**

_Like Shikamaru! Quit dreaming! I don't like Shika! I mean Shikamaru!_

**Yes yes yes. We ALL believe you. –cough bull cough-**

_Oh shut up. Go back inside INNER INO!_

**No, YOU go back!**

_Go back where?_

…**-fill in gap- Inner Ino has left the conversation**

_Fine, MAKE ME A LONER!_

--------------------

Hinata stared out the window. She didn't count how many times she has been doing that the whole week.

'I only like Naruto-kun because he's like Sawatura-kun… Do I?' She asked herself. There was no reply back. She sighed and cross her indigo room to get her phone. She text messaged Sakura, Ino and Tenten to head towards the coffee shop on the Main Road in the city.

---------------------

"Well, how are you Sakura?" Tenten asked as she sipped her Affogato (Espresso with ice cream…mmm). Sakura nodded quickly, accidentally knocking over the sugar jar.

"Woops! I'm so sorry!" Sakura apologized over and over again to the waiter they had. He sweatdropped and so did Tenten and Ino. Hinata just giggled. They moved to another bench, closer to the window where cars and taxis passed by with a WHIZ.

"So, how was staying at Sasuke's house eh? Nudge nudge!" Ino teased, raising her eyebrows as Sakura blushed.

"Oh be quiet. You know we still have the war!" Sakura retorted.

"Oh yeah. As a matter of fact, it'll be ending soon!" Tenten raised her mug and gulped down the rest. It was the 23rd of February, meaning the tormenting will end in five days.

"Yep! Well…" Ino gave Sakura an evil look which Sakura replied with a confused one. "Have you fallen in love with him yet?" Sakura spat out her Vienna latte across the coffee shop window. Everyone in the shop silenced. Someone coughed and tumbleweed passed away. The hustle started again. Jin, their waiter had a vein sticking out of his forehead as he approached the girl's table with fury. He pulled out his cloth and started cleaning the window muttering words under his breath.

"Sorry about that, we'll pay you extra," Tenten said expertly while Sakura sat there with a dark cloud over her head. Ino laughed sheepishly, sweatdropping and Hinata continued to drink down her mocha.

"No, Ino. I HAVE NOT FALLEN IN LOVE WITH UCHIHA SASUKE!" Sakura screamed at her blonde haired friend.

"Ok, enough about that topic. Do you think I like Naruto-kun?" Hinata finally asked. That question shrouded her mind all day. The other three looked at her with surprise.

"You're asking us if you like Naruto? I thought you already liked him," Tenten replied, playing with the sugar sticks.

"…" Hinata resumed in finishing up her mocha. Her mind was set now. She now, completely, likes Sawatura's twin brother, Naruto.

------------------------------------------------------------------

'Great, more of Gai-sensei…' Tenten thought as she changed into her P.E uniform.

**1 day to go…**

It was Thursday, period 1 and 2. P.E, teacher – Might Gai.

Sakura stood beside her struggled in tying her hair. Her mind was filled with the soon-ending war between her and Sasuke. AND, tomorrow was the prom day. Kakashi just told them today, which caused panic between the girls and humour for the boys.

"_Oh yeah. Tomorrow will be the prom. Formal wear, partners needed," Kakashi said, lifting his head from the contents of his perverted book during homeroom. _

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN TOMORROW?" Ino screamed. She was already in the state of ripping her hair out. _

"_Tomorrow, miss Yamanaka. AND you'll need a partner. I suggest mister Nara here would make a good match." Kakashi said, winking with his only visible eye. Ino snorted and sat back down again. At the end of homeroom, she did end up asking Shikamaru and of course, what a gentleman he became…_

"OK! EVERYONE IS HERE!" Gai roared over the volume of the class. "BUT WAIT, WHERE IS THE YOUTHFUL LEE!" Gai cried, looking around for his most favoured student.

"He's sick!" Someone cried out from the mass of people.

"NOOOOOO! BUT HOWEVER, THE SHOW MUST GO ON!" Gai clutched his head frantically.

"Today, we will learn about martial arts! Who here has learnt some?" Few people in the group raised their hand, including our four wonderful characters.

"VERY WELL! YOU CAN SHOW THE CLASS YOUR WONDERFUL YOUTHFUL SKILLS! SASUKE AND SAKURA, YOU TWO CAN GO FIRST!" Gai sensei cried. Fan girls swooned at the sight of Sasuke smirking while fan boys drooled at the look of Sakura in P.E uniform. She showed them the finger whereas Sasuke smirked.

The two stepped onto the mat which was already laid in the gym hall.

"If I win, I get to give you a kiss," Sasuke whispered in her ear. She shivered at the sound of his velvety voice leaking itself into her mind. She just grinned.

"Hn. Like as though you can. If I win, I get the victory, for the war." She answered back.

'You've already won Sakura, from the very beginning…' Sasuke thought calmly, getting into position. Sakura followed, going into a different one.

"Ready, steady, GO!" Someone shouted from the stands. Both of them charged, aiming for the gut. Sakura dodged gracefully while Sasuke, well, he wasn't that lucky. He strove to roundhouse kick her but she managed to jump using his shoulders as a lift. He watched her soar with poise as she landed behind him. She attempted to hit his back but he disappeared. She looked around to see him hold her wrist and flip her over. She tried to stop her rear from hitting the ground but failed. Her whole body came crashed down to the foam mat. Sakura could hear girls cheering in the background.

But before her pride came plunging to the ground, an arm looped itself around her waist. Sasuke came face to face with her, his dark eyes gazing into hers. Slowly, he neared until his lips claimed her. It was seconds until he let go once again.

"Look's like I've won this battle, Sakura-chan," he murmured into her ear. He lifted her up and set her feet back to the ground. He left without a word to the gym changing rooms. When he left, Sakura lifted a hand up to her lips, still feeling those lips that tasted vaguely similar.

-------------------

**Lunchtime detention – 1pm with Kakashi sensei.**

"Hey Sasuke, I heard you played Romeo today," Kakashi said, sitting on the teacher's desk with his orange book in hand. All that was in detention was Sasuke, Sakura, Neji and Tenten. Sasuke chuckled at his teacher's remark.

"Tch. Kakashi-sensei, acting ain't what I do," he said, flicking the ball of paper into the air and catching it again.

"Well, you four finished your work. Guess you guys can clean the floor," Kakashi said, spotting the floor littered with junk and even a dead frog. Sakura eyed the frog carefully before setting off into the other direction. Tenten and Neji sat close to each other, picking out tiny bits of fluff that was covering the floor. Kakashi suddenly had an idea, -lightbulb appears on his head-.

'Match makin' time…' He thought evilly.

"Oi! Tenten! Turn around!" Kakashi called. Neji was right behind her and opened his mouth to say that he was cleaning the back. But Tenten turned around swiftly and accidentally got her lips caught with Neji's. Both of them widened their eyes with shock but stayed calm. Gradually, they both began to enjoy the taste of each other and began making out. Sasuke and Sakura stared at their best friends in disbelief and disgust. They turned away, unintentionally kissing too. More panic as Kakashi kicked Sasuke to push the raven haired boy on top of the emerald eyed girl. Sasuke and Sakura broke apart, ashamed that they kissed twice in one day, three for Sakura. They glared menacingly at their giggling sensei. They approached him with raised fists.

**FIVE MINUTES LATER…**

"I think we handled that pretty well," Sakura said, locking the door. They left their poor sensei with the two tongue battling teens. Sasuke grinned at her, walking down the deserted hallway. It was still lunchtime, but both of them were bored and didn't feel like going out, especially not with Neji and Tenten beside them.

"Hey Sakura," Sasuke called. She was walking a couple of metres ahead of him and she turned to his call.

"Yes?" She asked, her head tilting to one side.

"You going to the prom with anyone?" He asked, copying her movements.

"Hmmm… Nope!" She answered, knowing his question from the look on his face.

"You wanna go with me?" Sasuke asked casually, shoving his clenched hands into his pockets. Sakura smiled warmly at him.

"Sure!" Before both of them could say another thing, the bell rang for period 5 and 6. They smiled at each other before heading towards their own lockers.

**TIME; 1.40PM**

**WAR ENDING IN; 21 HOURS AND 0 MINUTES.**

-----------

Tenten peeked her head out of the detention room. Sasuke and Sakura magically disappeared while she and Neji were… uhh… yeah. While they rolled on the floor on top of each other, Neji had asked her to the prom. Of course her answer was yes. She looked up to see Sasuke and Sakura gone whereas Kakashi was staring at them with wide eyes. She looked back at him menacingly and advanced to him.

They both left Kakashi in the room, asleep like a baby on the floor with bruises and stars circling his head.

"Tenten, what do you have now?" asked Neji as they walked through the silent corridor. 5 and 6th period had started and everyone was in their classrooms.

"English. You have History don't you?" Tenten answered. Neji nodded and headed towards his locker's direction. She turned to depart to her own.

"Wait!" Neji's voice pulled her back and she turned back to feel Neji's lips on her cheek.

"See ya…"

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End of story

I hope this is long enough to keep you guys occupied!

Reviews please!

KieruMinazuki


	10. Prom Night

YAY! Chapter 10, I'm so proud of myself!

WARNING: Song at the end

Thank you for those who have stuck by me ever since I've started this story! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

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**RECAP**

"Hey Sakura," Sasuke called. She was walking a couple of metres ahead of him and she turned to his call.

"Yes?" She asked, her head tilting to one side.

"You going to the prom with anyone?" He asked, copying her movements.

"Hmmm… Nope!" She answered, knowing his question from the look on his face.

"You wanna go with me?" Sasuke asked casually, shoving his clenched hands into his pockets. Sakura smiled warmly at him.

"Sure!" Before both of them could say another thing, the bell rang for period 5 and 6. They smiled at each other before heading towards their own lockers.

**END RECAP**

Sakura sighed, changing into her school uniform. Sasuke had sent a message to her saying the war will now be ending at prom night. It would make it more exciting and make her wait more. She was grumpy at first but accepted. She went down the stairs to see her aunt and Gaara there.

"Oh, Gaara, what are you doing here?" Sakura said as she put her slippers on, walking over to the kitchen table. Shiikure and Gaara each had a cup of tea and had an extra one on the table for Sakura. She gulped it down greedily and took a piece of toast that was set on the wooden bench.

"I'm going to your school next term, Aunt Shiikure enrolled me. Better not ditch me," Gaara replied, finishing his piece and grabbing another one. Sakura's eyes widened and she smiled at his remark. She punched him playfully and nodded, heading towards the bathroom to fix her hair. Gaara smiled after her, knowing she would be just fine for the war.

-------

Sasuke did his tie up in front of his mirror. He had told Sakura that the war will end at the prom. He had a trick up his sleeve. He examined his handiwork and went down the stairs. Itachi sat at the table, reading the newspaper. His brand new wedding ring on his left ring finger showed that he was in nuptial to his love. In the letter from Tsuki, she gave him a ring and said that he would forever to married to her through life and death. Also, she was wearing a golden ring when she died, showing that her and Itachi's names were carved into it. She had told him to look after Sasuke, and not to mourn in her death.

"Morning little brother, here ya go," Itachi gave Sasuke a plate of bacon and eggs with toast on the side. Sasuke thanked him with a gesture of a nod and began eating. He swallowed down some coffee and grabbed his bag.

"Good luck lil' bro, in winning her back." Sasuke turned back to see his older brother grinning at him.

"I'll be leaving tonight for the US again, I sold Tsuki's ticket," Itachi continued reading. Sasuke nodded once again and left the house. Little did he notice, a silver tear running down the black haired man's face.

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Sakura walked to school, crossing the path. It was a rainy day today, and her umbrella was failing her. She had a change of clothes in her bag just in case. Her aunt and Gaara had forced her to take it as a backup for the rain was heavily pouring down that morning.

Then, a black Jaguar whizzed past her, splashing her uniform soaking wet. Her umbrella had flown away and her body was freezing under the grey sky. The car stopped, and out came Sasuke, holding an umbrella over her.

"YOU OK?" Sasuke yelled over the drumming rain.

"NO THANKS TO YOU!" Sakura screamed back.

"You got a change of clothes?" Sasuke asked calmly, spotting her bulging bag that didn't seem to get wet. She nodded. He helped her retreat into his car and she changed.

"No peeking! I don't want you to become a hentai, unless you're already one," Sakura said as she stepped into his car with leather seats. He rolled his black eyes and shut the door, allowing her to change in peace. He stood outside with his umbrella, watching cars pass by lazily. As soon as she finished, she was about to leave until Sasuke pushed her back in.

"Stay. I'll drive you to school," he ordered. He wondered why Sakura was staring at him angrily until he realized that his hands were on her chest. He backed away, letting his grip go immediately.

"Sasuke! We're going to be late!" He looked at her in surprise to see she was smiling. He thought she was going to be bashing him up by now, but, he didn't hope for it. He nodded quickly and jumped into the driver's seat. She leapt into the front passenger seat and they went off to school once again.

-------------

"Formal wear, partners needed, no spiking drinks…" Kakashi went down the list of things to do about the prom. Everyone sat there with pens in their hands, tapping away impatiently. He had arrived 40 minutes late, a new record, and they had to cut out some Maths time for him to tell them some stuff needed to be known in order for the prom. Sasuke looked at the clock wearily, hoping time would fly by more faster. Sakura sat beside him yawning now and then. She stayed up searching for a dress to wear. Ino was dozing off, occasionally bumping heads with Shikamaru who too was drowsy. Hinata sat there, blushing inevitably. Naruto had asked her to the dance that morning, soaking wet from the heavy downpour. She had gasped when he came plodding into the school. She fell into shock and accepted, taking out her handkerchief to wipe his face clean. Neji and Tenten were glancing at each other from time to time. Sometimes, Kakashi caught them gazing at each other. But when they saw him staring, they would glare at him evilly, making him go back to his business.

"Also, prom queen and king to be named! Congratulations to Sasuke for winning last year's one, with Kariya Shiinatani! Weren't you two partners last year?" Kakashi asked in wonder. Both of them shook their heads.

"I was with Kazuro but he left," Shiina said sadly, grieving from the loss of her date.

"Oh sorry about that. What about you Sasuke?" Kakashi turned his head to the Uchiha who was still staring at the clock with a menacing look.

"I wasn't even there!" He answered snappily, breaking out of his trance.

"Oh, I SEE!" Kakashi replied in the same tone. He continued going down the list.

'This is going to take forever…' The whole middle row thought altogether.

---------------

Sakura threaded through the crowd, trying to find Shiinatani. She wanted to ask if she had a partner for the dance, if not, Sakura would ask Sasuke to dance with her for a while.

"Hey! Shiinatani!" Shiina turned to see the pink haired girl waving her arms wildly. Shiina waved back, heading towards Sakura.

"Yes, Sakura?" Shiina asked, clutching her books. The crowd was pushing them back.

"Do you have anyone to go with you to the prom?" Sakura asked with great difficulty since Tenten and Ino were screaming out her name down the hall. Shiina looked confused but answered,

"Yes I do, he's quite nice, I met him on the subway!" Sakura was a bit shocked at the answer but was satisfied.

"ALRIGHT THEN, JUST ASKING!" Sakura tried to yell over her friends but didn't quite make it. She nodded and left to shut her friends up.

---------------------

"Ugh, dress, dress, dress, dress, dress, DRESS!" Ino rummaged through her cupboard just to find her one and only dress. Her wardrobe was full of clothes. Sakura, Tenten and Hinata stared at her. All four of them came to Ino's house to get ready for the prom. Sakura needed help with her neck length hair, Hinata definitely needed to try out makeup and Tenten, well, she just came to help.

"Ino, hurry up and get into your dress! We've already got in ours!" Tenten said through chattering teeth, rubbing her arms. It was still raining outside and Ino's house didn't seem to have a heater.

"Ok ok ok ok! I'm going!" Ino went into her bathroom and started to get her dress on. Meanwhile, Sakura was experimenting eye shadow on Hinata as she sat down in front of the dressing table.

"Hm, how about red? Blue? Nah, maybe…navy!" Sakura dashed to get the red box. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Navy IS a blue doofus," Tenten said, watching Sakura fumble through Ino's makeup bag. Sakura pulled a face at her and continued her job. Ino slammed her door open and showed her friends her pretty dress.

"Like it?" Ino asked as Tenten examined her. Sakura nodded and finally found the blue compartment. She dabbed a bit of this and that on Hinata and soon, Hinata looked like a princess.

"Wow I did a pretty good job," Sakura looked at piece of art which was Hinata blushing at her new look. Tenten rolled her eyes as soon as Sakura started muttering things under her breath.

"Yeah, yeah. Now Sakura, shut up and sit down," Tenten pushed her pink haired friend next to Hinata and began working.

**TIME; 5.35PM**

**WAR ENDING IN; 7 HOURS AND 5 MINUTES**

-----------

Sakura sat down on Ino's lounge chair. It was nice red velvet and fitted well with the other furnishings. Ino was upstairs screaming as Tenten curled her hair.

"_No Tenten! I don't want my hair curly!" _

"_Come on, Shikamaru will think you look HOT!"_

"_DON'T SAY THAT! THE LAZY ASS WON'T EVEN NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT!"_

"_Pfft, shut up and sit DOWN NOW INO! HINATA HELP ME OUT!"_

Screams from Ino came as she was pulled down onto the dressing table chair and cries of triumph erupted from Tenten. Hinata came down with a navy cloak matching with her dress and makeup. Sakura had bought some cloaks to keep them warm outside. Sakura too was wearing one except hers was a burgundy colour. Hinata headed towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water and Sakura followed her. She looked at the fridge to see a picture of a black haired boy and Ino when they were much younger.

"That's Shikamaru and Ino. They are childhood friends," Hinata explained sipping her cup lightly. She continued,

"They're actually arranged to get married." Sakura stared at her in disbelief.

"At first, Ino was angry, but she soon accepted when she got to know Shikamaru better. They'll be wedded when they're 19. The Nara company and the Yamanaka Corp have known each other for a while, so now, they'll combine thanks to Ino and Shikamaru." Hinata said, placing her glass in the sink.

"WELL! Ready to go?" Tenten came down with a wavy haired Ino looking grumpy. Tenten had her hair in one large plait. Both Hinata and Sakura nodded while Ino just looked away. Tenten headed towards the home phone and called Neji.

---------------

All the guys stood outside the car. Naruto and Sasuke in Sasuke's car while Shikamaru and Neji in his. The girls came out one after another. Tenten came out first, Neji taking her hand and planting a kiss on her cheek, causing the guys to smirk while girls were left giggling. Ino came out next, blushing when Shikamaru was gawking at her in amazement. He took out a rose and handed it to her. After Ino, came Hinata, blushing endlessly, especially when Naruto gave her a bouquet of bright lilies. She blushed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek which made him blush too. Sasuke smirked while Sakura giggled once again. Lastly, came Sakura, which blinded Sasuke by her beauty. He took her hand and kissed it, reminding her of yesterday. He slipped on a corsage on her wrist with dark blue flowers attached to it similar to Sasuke's tie. She smiled kindly and he smiled back. Then both, of them jumped into the car and headed towards the prom.

---------------

**IN SASUKE'S CAR…**

"Oi! Teme, step on it! They'll finish all the food! Man I can drive fast than you for sure…"

"You don't even have a car dobe, so how can you be faster?"

"Shut up! Just go faster!"

"Naruto-kun, I'm sure they'll have plenty of food…"

"You're right Hinata-chan…"

"Yeah, listen to your girlfriend Naruto."

"Why don't you tell your boyfriend to speed it?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU RAMEN-LOVING FREAK? I'LL SMASH YOUR BRAINS IN!"

"SHUT UP SAKURA! I'M GOING TO CRASH INTO THE TRAFFIC LIGHT!"

"OH MY KAMI! SORRY SASUKE!"

"Just kidding."

"YOU IDIOT!"

---------------

**IN NEJI'S CAR…**

"Aw you look so cute today, Neji-bear…"

"Don't call me 'Neji-bear' Tenten."

"Why not Neji-bear? –pinches Neji's cheek- It fits you perfectly!"

"I don't like it."

"So mean to your girlfriend! Don't you agree Shika-kun?"

"Don't call him 'Shika-kun'"

"Why not Neji-bear? It's his nickname!"

"…"

"Jealous?"

"I'm not!"

"Sure, then why are you planning to hit us into that tree to kill Shika-kun so I can call you Neji-kun?"

"…"

"Gotcha Neji-kun."

"-scoff-"

"-sigh- Mendokuse…"

"Don't worry Neji-bear, I'll call you Neji-bear!"

"Ino, don't call him that or he'll kill us all."

-------------

Finally, our lovely characters have arrived at the school after moments of bickering. Sakura, Tenten, Ino and Hinata have discarded their cloaks, revealing their dresses. Hinata was wearing a spaghetti string dress, reaching her ankles with sapphire jewels embroidered her. Tenten had a dress similar to Hinata except the front was made into a cross. She had emerald earrings that Neji had given to her as a birthday present last year and she had a large green clip to match her dress in her hair. Ino wore a dress with the V design near the chest which was a deep purple color. Her blonde hair was curly, work of Tenten, and silver amethyst earrings dangled from her earlobes. Sakura wore a dress with the strap tied around her neck. The bottom part of it was rippled and ended up going in a diagonal direction. She wore a white gold necklace that her aunty had given her before the prom, saying the 'other' half was somewhere else. She wouldn't say but told Sakura that she needed to find it herself.

Each boy drooled at the sight of their dates, making them blush a red that was indescribable. They entered the hall and sat down on a table reserved for them. They began eating and mucking around.

"Wait a second, is that…Gaara?" Sakura asked Sasuke, tugging at his black suit. He swiftly turned to see Gaara and Kariya Shiinatani dancing on the dance floor. She smiled at him 'rocking' the group.

"OI! Sakura!" Gaara called to his pink haired cousin. She waved back, catching Shiina's happy face. She saw Shiina ask Gaara something inaudible and they started dancing again.

**WAR ENDING IN; 4 HOURS AND 6 MINUTES**

-------

Sakura watched Neji and Tenten dance gracefully across the room. Naruto and Hinata were nearby, with the blonde whispering the words to the song in the indigo haired girl's ear. Shikamaru and Ino were outside, sitting by the lake, hands entwined. Sasuke was waltzing with Shiina while Gaara sat down with Sakura, drinking down some punch.

"So, find out who the winner is yet?" Gaara asked, gulping down the rest of his drink before throwing it in the middle of the large pile on their table (Courtesy of Naruto). Obviously, he was referring to the war.

"Nope not yet. Last dance," Sakura answered, playing with the white necklace. Gaara caught sight of it suspiciously and instantly remembered it from the day he first met Sakura. She was wearing it and she was clutching it in her hands while she crossed the road.

"Sakura," Sasuke appeared, offering his hand to the next serenade. She smiled and accepted, allowing Shiina to take her seat.

"So," Sasuke started, holding Sakura's hand in his as they danced to music. She giggled and looked into his obsidian eyes carefully.

"So?" She said back, trying to amuse him. He chuckled quietly as he spun her around. He caught her again and they began dancing once more.

"Where did you get that necklace?" He asked, spotting it as it glimmered in the light. She looked down at it, making sure he wasn't staring at her bosom instead.

"My aunt gave it to me. She said it has another half but I don't know where it is," she said, fingering it between her fragile nails. Sasuke smirked and pulled out a chain that he wore. There was another pendant, the other half of the kanji character, 'Love'. Sakura gasped.

"How did you get one?" she asked, gob smacked. He smirked once again.

"I don't know. I found it while looking for my tux. Thought I might wear it today," he shrugged. Of course, that wasn't true. He wore it every day and every night.

"Wow," Sakura murmured, fitting both of them together perfectly. It made 'Love'. She smiled at the word and continued dancing.

-----------

"Hello students of KONOHA!" Tsunade screamed into the mike. Apparently, someone did end up spiking the punch, causing even their own principal to get drunk. Everyone covered their ears when they heard the scary lady shriek into the microphone.

"NOW WE WILL ANNOUNCE TODAY, I mean, TONIGHT'S PROM KING AND QUEEN!" Tsunade sustained, grabbing the sheet from a woozy Kakashi. She snatched it off him and read;

"Haruno Sasuke and Uchiha Sa-ku-ka!" Everyone looked around in confusion, wondering who the strangers were. Asuma, who didn't seem intoxicated, took the sheet off the principal and this time, READ PROPERLY;

"Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura." Cheers erupted from the girls for Sasuke while whistles from boys came for Sakura. Both clambered onto the stage, accepting their crowns and began the last dance on the dancefloor with every couple in the school.

_You say my love is all you need to see you through  
_

Both our lovely main characters (If you don't know who it is, try to remember who you put in the character search) moved slowly to the song. Sakura wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck while Sasuke placed his hands on her hips softly. She smiled at his actions, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

_But I know these words are not quite true_

_Here is the path you're looking for, an open door _

_Leading the worlds you long to explore_

Sakura knew the words to the song and began singing them gently while Sasuke swayed them around.

_Go, if you must move on alone _

_I'm gonna make it on my own_

"Well Sakura, have you fallen in love with me yet?" Sasuke's question made Sakura accidentally hit his ear in a hurry.

_Kiss me good-bye, love's memory_

"Woops! I mean… um…uh…" Sakura stuttered. She couldn't really answer the issue at hand but Sasuke smirked at her stammering.

_Follow your heart and find your destiny _

_Don't shed a tear for love's mortality_

"I guess I'll take that as a yes," he said in a voice that Sakura never heard. "But," He leant over to her right ear, dangling with gold ruby earrings.

_For you put the dream in my reality _

"I… fell in love with… you…from the start…" Those nine words struck Sakura instantly. He moved his head back, gazing into Sakura's shocked eyes. Then, she regained her composure and said,

_As time goes by, I know you'll see this of me _

_I loved enough to let you go free_

"Really? 'Cause it might be the same for me…" And with that, Sakura closed the gap between them.

_Go, I will give you wings to fly, _

_Cast all your fears into the sky_

Sasuke pulled his lips from hers, needing air.

"Well? I guess we'll call that a draw…" He said, smiling a deep smile which reached into her heart.

_Kiss me good-bye, love's mystery _

_All of my life, I'll hold you close to me  
_

_Don't shed a tear for love's mortality  
_

_For you put the dream in my reality_

She smiled back widely, pulling in for another kiss which she found addicting.

"Oi! Lovebirds!" FLASH! Both of them broke away, seeing Naruto with a camera in hand and Hinata behind him.

"…NARUTO!"

_Kiss me good-bye, love's memory _

_You put the dream in my reality_

**WAR ENDED; 12AM**

**CONCLUSION; No winner, just happiness**

------------

Sakura sat in bed, rethinking the memories that just happened. She smiled at the thought of Sasuke. She pulled the covers, turned the light off and went to sleep. But one word kept roaming her mind…

_Serenade…_

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**END**

Yes! A very long chapter for once! Go me! In celebration for my tenth chapter. Even though it ain't important… BUT WHO CARES, PARTIES ARE GOOD FOR THE BRAIN!

The song I used is 'Kiss my Good-bye' by Angela Aki the English version from FFXII. It's a great song, I recommend you to download it to soften the mood.

Thank you for reading

AND THE WORDS WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT! A code is to it.

Bye bye

KieruMinazuki


	11. Birthday Surprises

Sorry. I've been moody and pissed for a while, stressing out, planning to suicide. Just kidding. Anyway, here's the latest chapter of Cherished. Enjoy. I've had a rough week, so try NOT (That's just a suggestion if you want to suffer my wrath) if get on my bad side. Thank you.

Anyway, YES I have once again changed my pen name. The reason is; and it's a good one; is because my pen name is my so called 'Bankai' from Bleach which I make up (I LOVE Bleach and I'm obssessed. So if I could have a bankai, this will be it). So, Minazuki has been TAKEN by captain 4 –cries in corner-. So anyway now it will be JunsuiFushichou meaning 'Pure Phoenix'. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! –cries- Lousy Unohana, but I still like her

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"_S - - - - - kun! Where are you?"_

_**S-kun? What kind of name is that? Maybe that's his first letter…**_

"_Sakura!" The boy's face came into her thoughts. His eyes could be seen while the rest were still blurred. She reached out to touch his face…_

"Oww! Sakura! Wake up!" Sakura jolted out of bed. Gaara was on the side of her double bed, massaging his nose. It was bleeding furiously and he backed away from her as she advanced to him.

"Don't touch me!" He shrieked, waving his arms to protect himself from her unclenched hands.

"GAARA! SHUT UP OVER THERE!" Shiikure's voice came from down the hall. Sakura stared at her 'cousin' and mouthed,

"What did I do?" He indicated a fist at his face and pointed at Sakura's hand. She gaped like a fish and closed it quickly, then jumped back to bed. It was the bloody holidays, and here he was, threatening to wake her up. She snuggled back into the comforting quilts, imagining they were Sasuke's arms.

_A 5 year old Sakura ran along the city bridge of Konoha. She had just found out her parents were murdered. Tears streaking her porcelain face and her long pink hair flowed behind her with the gentle breeze that swept through the busy city. _

"_Is this why I have no siblings? No father? A guardian only 18 years older than me…?" Sakura asked aloud to no one in particular. She sat in between the iron bars, allowing her feet to dangle above the polluted water. As tears came down, they dropped into the river, creating ripples._

"_What's wrong with you?" Sakura turned around to see a boy her age, with raven bangs framing his cold face. His black orbs observed her carefully, wondering why a small girl had occupied his usual spot. Most of his face was still fuzzy, in the older Sakura's view._

"_Oh... nothing…" Sakura answered, turning away so he couldn't see the pink blush creeping onto her wind beaten face. She shivered. After her aunt had told her the events, she ran out of the house, not bothering to bring a jacket with her since she was in a hurry. Sakura looked out at the city, the lights blinking at her. It was almost sunset. Suddenly, a warm jacket was placed around her shoulders. She looked up to see the boy laying the jacket on her bare shoulders. She thanked him and he sat beside. Soon enough, both of them were sharing their stories._

"_What's your name?" Sakura asked. They had been chatting for an hour or more, and the tall lamp posts lit their area. He smiled at her and answered,_

"_S- - - - -. Yours?" He said casually, looking out at the boats that headed towards the dock nearby._

_**What? You bum! I'm going to tell you mine, might as well tell yours!**_

"_Sakura!" She replied bubbly. She thrust out her hand for him to shake it. He took it firmly, and planted a gentle kiss on it._

"_I guess this will be the beginning of our friendship, Sakura-**chan**."_

_**Why does that voice sound so familiar? Why why why is all I can ask…**_

------------------------------------------------

BRRING. BRIIING.

Sakura grumbled, randomly grabbing anything that lay on her wooden bedside table. Her green eyes still closed, she could feel; her hair ties, alarm clock, Gaara's watch (How did **that** get there?), her lamp (Big as a watermelon) and finally reached her phone. She answered in a sluggish voice,

"Hello?"

"SAKURA! You were supposed to be awake 2 hours, 33 minutes and 12 seconds ago!"

Ino's voice dominated Sakura's whole room.

"Inooooo…. It's the holidays! Just shut up and get more rest…"

"Uhh no! I've had enough! Come on! It's almost my birthday and I want ALL of us to plan it out together!"

"Uhh lemme think…No."

"Stuff that! Sakura, be at my house in; 1 hour, 2 minutes and 13 seconds! Ja!"

------------------

Sakura dragged herself to her mini 'S-Type' jaguar. Well, technically speaking, her aunt's old car. Shiikure worked as a car seller, so she got an extra one extra extra cheap for Sakura. … Ok she got it for herself.

She switched the key into the lock and drove herself to Tenten's place.

"Oi Tenten! Hurry up!" Tenten rushed out of the door, a piece of toast in her mouth and slipping on an olive coloured jacket.

"Sowwy, was tawking tow Neji, (TRANSLATED; Sorry, was talking to Neji –nudge nudge-)" Sakura rolled her eyes and continued on her way.

------------

"Good morning fellow friends!" Tenten and Sakura glared at Ino with a mixture of revenge and annoyance that their 'sleep-ins' were disturbed by the blonde haired girl. Hinata was alright, she woke up early from her unsettling nightmares.

"Anyway, as you know, my birthday is coming up!"

"Isn't Shikamaru's before yours?"

"Shut up. I've decided that WE will be going to the new CLUB!"

All of them stared at Ino with wide eyes, including Hinata.

"What?" All of them said through gritted teeth. Oh yes, the new club filled with perverted men examples; Kakashi. Just kidding. Younger gropers, guys that would drool over a new girl's body, desperate assholes that would spike drinks for a night of fun, the works. THE works of male hentais. To a girl who likes her dignity, hell. Example; Tenten, Sakura, Hinata. Just kidding. Just kidding again, about Tenten, Sakura and Hinata not liking their dignity.

"You want us to go to that bar? THAT bar where males grope innocent high schoolers for sex?" Sakura said, pointing at the bar that was displayed on the usual newspaper. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Come on, GIRLS go there too! SO don't feel alone! And not ALL hentais go there! Kakashi-sensei doesn't!" –Shudders from Tenten, Sakura and Hinata-.

"FINE. But we're only doing this because it's your birthday! By the way, what are you getting Shikamaru?" Tenten said, crabbily. Ino blushed.

"You'll see!"

_Careless…_

-----------------

Sakura furiously scribbled onto the piece of scrap paper.

**Serenade**

**Careless**

'Why these words?' She asked herself, staring at them with her desk lamp shining on it brightly. She shook her head and left the room, allowing it to blow with the northerly wind coming from her window.

-----------------

Ino stood in front of Shikamaru's house, holding her gift in her hands. She carefully went through her exercise.

'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…' She pressed the doorbell in an instant and stood there waiting for someone to answer.

"Oh Ino, hello," Shikamaru answered, wearing his usual home clothing. His hair was down.

**Wow he looks sexy…**

_No time for you! I need to do this!_

"Shikamaru! Happy birthday!" She thrust the present out at him with a wide grin plastered on her face. He accepted awkwardly and thanked her. Before she left, she turned and swiftly pecked his cheek.

"See ya soon…" She left, heading back to her car. She drove off, with Shikamaru staring at her. He 'spaced off' with a dreamy look on his face. He could feel his face burning up. He reached out to his cheek and could still feel Ino's lips on his cheek. He smirked and said,

"Troublesome woman…"

----------------

"Oh Ino, you are NOT making me wear that!" Tenten burst out of the room, showing her friends what Ino had set out for her. It consisted of a tight fitting spaghetti green top, and a really really short skirt, with shorts underneath. Sakura stood out there, shivering in her clothing (It's the Part II clothes, same with Ino, no ninja stuff on them). Hinata had a mid thigh skirt and a dark blue tube top on, completed with her usual jacket.

"Come on Tenten… please?" Ino 'puppy-dog' eyed her. Tenten rolled her eyes and went back inside the room to change. Ino grinned evilly, wondering if Neji would kill her or praise her if he saw her like that.

As soon as Tenten was done, they all heaved themselves into Sakura's car and headed towards the new club, Kuro Kokoro (Black Heart).

---------------

All the guys sat in Shikamaru's lounge room, sipping drinks with a hint of alcohol. Everyone was silent, that you could practically hear the clock ticking away life's seconds.

"Hey guys, have you heard about the new club?" Naruto attempted to break the silence.

"No," everyone answered monotonously.

"How bout we go?"

"No."

"Come on, we have nothing to do!"

"…"

"Sasuke, we'll go in your car," Naruto grabbed Sasuke's car keys from the kitchen table. Not giving a care, they all followed the blonde guy.

----------------

_I'm bringing sexy back_

Tenten, Sakura, Ino and Hinata just stepped into the building until it practically pushed them back.

"…This song sucks," Tenten said, pulling a face of disgust. (A/N: Sorry for those 'Sexy Back' lovers, I don't like that song.)

The bar was noisy and loud. The lights suspended on the top were whirring around dizzily. Some people even fainted when they just entered. Squashy seats set around circular tables were next to the dance floor, where everyone was crammed into a space small enough for a water bottle to fit through.

Ino went off to find a guy to flirt with while Tenten, Sakura and Hinata sat down on a table near the exit, just in case.

"Hey cutie, wanna drink?" An old guy, looking old enough to know he IS old, came up to Hinata to grope her butt. Before he could touch it, Tenten and Sakura had punched him in the face.

"BACK OFF PUNK!" They both screamed. They sat back down angrily, thinking up plans to make sure Ino will pay.

"Hey hot stuff – " BANG! Every man that dared to come near them simply didn't get to finish their sentence. Soon enough, a whole pile of unconscious men were on the floor in front of their table.

"Wanna drink?" Tenten asked, getting up from her seat. Both of the other girls nodded, making sure, NO male would get to touch them.

Tenten approached the bar and asked for something strong. He quickly made them a 'saketini' (martini instead using sake instead of vermouth). She took it back to find more males roaming around their table. She pushed through to sit with her friends.

A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER…

"Tenten –hic-, Hinata –hic- you guys are GREAT! Thanks for letting me drink!" Sakura shouted over the loud booming music. Hinata was asleep on the table, her glass tumbling onto the ground and shattering into a million pieces. Tenten was still shoving drink after drink into her dry mouth, making sure every drop made it through.

"Damnit! WAITER! Another one –hic- please!" Tenten screamed at the waiter, holding her glass up high. She looked at Sakura who was struggling to stand up. "Imma go dance on the bar thingy…" Sakura nodded and headed towards the dance floor.

Tenten roughly headed towards the bar stand. She pushed aside a guy who was sitting on a stool and stood up on the bench. Then, she started dancing crazily, kicking shots and glasses everywhere. All the guys underneath her stared up her skirt and began getting heavy nose bleeds.

Meanwhile Sakura had taken the dance floor, shaking wildly like Tenten. Everyone stared at her in awe and guys attempted to grab her butt. Ino joined her, after being intoxicated by the guy she apparently danced with. Both of them ruled the floor.

Just then, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Neji had arrived.

"DOBE! You should've let me drive. It took us 3 hours to get here," Sasuke roared, trying to overcome the deafening music of the club. Naruto just stared at the two girls dancing. He nudged at Sasuke and Shikamaru, who turned to see Sakura and Ino showing off their curves. Both of them turned red and stormed off to stop the drunken girls. Neji began chuckling, until Naruto pointed at the bar. Guys were pinching Tenten's skin cheekily. Neji fumed and started pushing his way through the noisy crowd. Naruto smirked and looked around, to see Hinata lying undefended on the table by herself. One guy was sitting beside her, groping her butt. Naruto got pissed that second, and soon, the brawl by that table had ended.

------------------

"Tch, women are so troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed, hitching Ino onto his shoulder casually. She was like a limp doll. Sasuke had Sakura on his back, her arms wrapped around his head, threatening to choke him. Hinata's arm was slung over Naruto's as he helped her walk. Tenten was curled up in Neji's masculine arms. It took them ages just to get the girls asleep.

_Sasuke and Shikamaru advanced on their two girls. Sakura stopped Ino and pointed at them. They both giggled and strode up to them too. _

"_So fellas, wanna night or something?" Ino said seductively, slinging an arm over Shikamaru's neck, snaking it around him to pull him into a deadly kiss. Sakura looked at Sasuke flirtingly and played with his hair. She blew it playfully, hopefully to get him to flirt with her. Sasuke could feel his face burning. Suddenly, he could feel Sakura's lips crush onto his. She tasted like sake, strawberry, and is that a hint of apple? Anyway he didn't notice, because he was too busy glaring at the guys groaning that the girl they had their eyes set on was taken. Sasuke pulled away, only to be met with a grumpy look on Sakura's face. Meanwhile, Ino had taken Shikamaru on the top floor, dragging him up there magically. _

_After Naruto's scuffle, he attempted to wake Hinata up. She woke up with a shock and slapped him in the face._

"_Oh my kami! Gomen Naruto-kun!" She said wearily. She stared around and fell back on the table again. _

_Neji was having a harder time. Tenten was still dancing. He tried to get her down, but his eyes kept trailing up her skirt. _

'_No Neji, now is NOT the time…' He told himself and finally went up on the bench himself. Tenten stopped and looked at him._

"_What? You wanna dance with me? Sure!" She started lap dancing around him. Neji could feel the blood pumping to his face at a very high rate. Guys around them whistled. _

_At last, Neji could only do one thing. He poked a pressure point that made her crumble onto the table in a flash. He bent down and picked her up. He headed over to Naruto and Hinata, who had taken her in his arms bridle style. Neji glared at him, which meant, 'change the way your holding her mister or you are so fried rice'. Naruto quickly swapped, this time having her arm coiled around his shoulder. She dazedly woke up and mumbled something. Now Naruto didn't have to drag her all the way home. _

_Shikamaru too knocked out Ino while Sakura had fallen into Sasuke's arms while dancing. All four of them headed out towards the exit. _

"Mmm Sasuke... you smell funny…" Sakura arose, hugging Sasuke's neck comfortably. She nuzzled his neck, breathing in his pure scent. He smirked and said as he arrived at his car,

"Go to sleep Sakura, I'm here…" He reached into her pocket and pulled out her car keys.

"Here Neji, Naruto, drive them home. Me and Shikamaru will go. Kay?" They all nodded and headed home. As Sakura slept peacefully, one word kept coming in and out of her sweet dreams…

_Unseen_

-----------------------------------------------------

END OF STORY

Hope you enjoyed it. Typing this made me feel better. God bless fanfictions.

REIVEWS please!


	12. IMPORTANT NOTICE

_**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL MY FIC READERS;**_

**I am sorry for not updating so far. All my fics will be on hold because I am writing a joint novel with my friend. We will be sending it to publishers to get it PUBLISHED and until I found out the outcome, all my fics will be on hold. I am sincerely sorry for all of you who have been looking forward to my fics. But, occasionally, some stories MIGHT get updated if I have enough time. **

**Thank you for your understanding.**

_JunsuiFushichou_


	13. Relaxation for once

In celebration of me getting a new computer and my brithday, I am uploading another chapter of each story!

Yes I am STILL writing the novel with my friend, so far around 2-3 chapters a week are working for us but we're currently working veeeeeerrrrryyyy slow. We're going to send it ASAP to publishers. Thank you for reading this story J.

Yo! Cherished will be ending soon…I think…

A sequel is coming to mind and boy do I love myself. It's a great idea I hope.

Cherished Chapter 12

* * *

Sakura moaned as she rubbed her head. A pain was felt inside her brain and she was almost over the edge of breaking open her skull and getting rid of it. She rolled over, to come face to face with a face (A/N: A tad confusing eh?). She opened her mouth to scream but was blocked by Sasuke's rough hand clamping it over her mouth. His eyes weren't open and he grunted.

"Sakura, be quiet. You said enough yesterday." Sasuke mumbled, turning over. Sakura leant over him, poking his face jokingly. Her headache seemed to have disappeared along with her worries as soon as she saw Sasuke's face.

"Wait a second…" Sakura flicked the covers off, forcing Sasuke to suffer from the sudden disappearance of warmth. "What…am…I…doing…in…your…BED?!" Sakura's scream shattered Sasuke's eardrum.

"You don't remember? I shouldn't have dropped you on the way upstairs then…" He grumbled, reaching for the blanket blindly. Sakura fumed.

"You…DROPPED ME!?!!?" She shouted again, shaking him furiously. Sasuke groaned and shook her arms off, and dropped back into the bed. He was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts and his chest was bare. Sakura blushed at the sight of this but ignored the urge and shook the thought from her mind. She sighed and went out of bed; walking into the bathroom she knew so much like as though it was on the back of her hand.

She swung the door open and reached to the glass cabinet and pulled out a glass. She filled it up and washed her mouth with mouthwash and rinsed it with water. As Sakura placed the glass back, she caught sight of the necklace Sasuke wore at the dance. It hung from a hook hanging on the bathroom tiles that decorated the room. She pulled out her own, which she always wore from then on and joined the two broken pendants together. As she gazed at them, twinkling in the light, she felt Sasuke's arms wrap around her. She allowed him and both of them watched as Sakura broke apart the two pendants.

---

Tenten shook her head wearily, as she headed towards the bathroom. She stripped off her clothes and walked into the shower, allowing the feel of the cool water wash her woes away. She leant against the wall, her long brown hair soaking in all the hot water.

Once she was done, she grabbed a towel and began drying herself. She wrapped the cloth around her body and was ready to open the door.

**WITH NEJI…**

Neji entered Tenten's house, slipping his boots off at the doorway. It was a lovely day outside, and he decided to go for a walk with his girlfriend. He heard the sound of water trickling, which only meant Tenten was taking a long shower. He sighed and began to walk towards the room where Tenten slept. He opened the door and found Tenten, only wearing a towel. She looked down at herself, then at Neji, then at herself again. It took her moments of turning back and forth to find that she was only wearing a towel. She screamed her lungs out.

"NEJI! GET OUT!" She threw a rock at him. He didn't know where the hell THAT came from but STUFF THAT, HE NEEDED TO RUN FOR HIS LIFE. He ran, and slammed the door shut behind him. He panted heavily, the look of Tenten pierced into his mind with every second of thinking.

'_Calm down Neji… At least it's not as bad like yesterday when she was dancing half naked in front of men… Wait… that IS BAD!' _His thoughts were interrupted when Tenten opened the door, drying her hair with a dry towel. She took a glimpse at him, blinked a couple of times before heading to the kitchen, to pour herself a glass of milk. Neji sighed and followed her.

'_Shikamaru's right, women are troublesome…'_

---

**WEEKS LATER…**

"Eh? You want us to go where?" Sakura said into the phone, a look of confusion forming across her face. Sasuke sighed and repeated the same line he had told her three minutes and twenty eight seconds ago.

"WE-ARE-ALL-GOING-TO-THE-BEACH!" Sasuke almost broke the phone apart. Sakura had to hold the receiver end fifteen meters away from her ear. She came back from her _long and perilous_ journey and cautiously picked the phone up again.

"Ok chilax, don't need to yell your insides out!" Sakura shouted back.

"Oi! Lovebirds! You forgot we're here too! Sasuke-teme, who knew _you_, could scream like that?" Naruto's voice came through and received at each of the seven people's end.

"Shut up dobe. We'll be going to the beach resort down on the other side of Konoha city, so strap yourselves for a long journey!" With that said, he hung off, disconnecting everyone since he was the one that called. Sakura sighed and placed the phone down. She went over to her aunty, who was desperately trying to read the instructions on the blender.

"Aunt Shiikure, are you going anywhere this weekend?" Sakura asked her aunty, snatching the sheet of paper off her. Shiikure sighed and nodded.

"Business trip to Sunagakure. I'll be gone for a week or two so I'm leaving Gaara here to take care of you." Sakura sighed once again and stared out the window. It was raining again, and it just began hailing.

"No need, I'm going with Sasuke-kun and friends to the beach that weekend." That made Shiikure drop the paper and she whistled.

"Oooooooohhhh Sakura and Sasuuuuke! Meow!" Shiikure imitated a cat which made Sakura roll her eyes. She swore her aunty was childish sometimes.

---

**THE WEEKEND….ALREADY?**

"Sasuke! I swear SHUT THAT THING UP!" Sakura screamed from the back. She was having her ummm…-cough cough- time of the month. Just kidding. She just had a headache thanks to stupid radio repeating the same song for the last half an hour. Sasuke smirked at the driver's wheel while Neji was on the front passenger seat. Sakura and Tenten front row, Shikamaru and Ino second and Naruto and Hinata last. Why Naruto and Hinata at the back? What do you think? Just kidding, Naruto was TRYING to be the macho man again but he vomited once he stepped foot into the van.

Sasuke snaked his fingers around the volume knob and turned it full blast. Sakura got pissed that very instant and took out a rock from nowhere.

"SASUKE! PREPARE TO DIIIIIE!" Neji and Tenten watched interestingly with popcorn shoved into their mouths.

"We're here." Sakura dropped the rock and looked outside the window. A HUUGE pretty beach resort, hanging the edge of the cliff, looking down on the beach, a nice greenhouse looking thing was beside it.

"Wow…" Hinata breathed, Naruto vomiting behind her.

'_I shouldn't have eaten all that ramen…'_ He thought.

---

Everyone lugged their luggage inside. The kitchen was neat and tidy and the floorboards creaked with every step. No dust was seen and there was a fireplace on the very end of the room. A bear skin rug lay in the center of four squishy couches, complete with lamp stands and a coffee table. The kitchen, covered with cupboards everywhere, was soon filled up with ramen for Naruto. A kettle, microwave, oven, stove, fridge and all your everyday needed appliances were there, ready to be used. Close to the kitchen doorway, was a long corridor with many doors.

"Here are the rooms. Choose any you like. Enjoy." Sasuke said shortly. He was piling wood into the fireplace and began lighting them with a match. Sakura watched him while everyone else went to go pick their rooms.

"What about swimming?" Sakura asked, looking outside the window to see a storm approaching. It thundered loudly, causing her to jump into Sasuke's arms. He chuckled and put her down.

"Don't worry. There's a pool in the green house. We'll be going there tomorrow." Sakura nodded and went off to find a room. Sasuke stared after her, his mind swimming with plans.

---

Sakura mumbled in her sleep as she felt someone nudging her.

"Wake up sleepy head, it's 11:30." Sakura, with her eyes still closed, threw her comfortable pillow at her loud blonde female friend. She was longing for another word to appear to her but it hadn't come in weeks.

"Inooooooo it's a holiday! Go wake up Tenten or something…" Sakura muttered under her breath as she stood up to retrieve her pillow which had barely reached the doorway. Ino was standing at the door, her hands on her hips and fully dressed in a brown bikini and a towel.

"Tenten's awake and already making out with Neji. So IT'S YOUR TURN!" Sakura 'meh'ed at her and continued sleeping.

Ino huffed and grabbed Sakura's leg. She heaved and pulled, and even Tenten who specially came away from her darling Neji, to drag Sakura out of her room.

Sasuke and Shikamaru, who were at the end of the corridor, could hear Sakura's cries of help and Ino's shrieks of victory. Everyone in the house was awake and could hear from miles away, even Hinata who was at the beach, picking shells with Naruto.

---

Sakura ruffled her vibrant hair in front of the mirror as she changed into her bathers. Everyone else was at the pool house and Sasuke said there was also a sauna too.

'A warm pool, a cold pool, a sauna, completed with a spa! Whoever owns the damn place lives a life of luxury…' Sakura thought as she tied her hair up with the green hair tie Hinata lent her. She left the house with her towel and entered the glass house, to find everyone crowded around a wooden door. Sakura approached them cautiously. Naruto was first to answer her curiosity.

"We locked Ino and Shikamaru in there." –insert Sakura's skeptical look- "Her idea." He pointed at Tenten who was grinning triumphantly. Neji sweat dropped beside her and Sasuke examined the temperature knob carefully. Hinata came up next to him, peering over his shoulder. Sakura looked inside the little window to find Ino and Shikamaru sitting across each other, Ino's face was as red as a tomato while Shikamaru was calm.

"It's 23 degrees in there. Do you think they'll survive?" Sasuke asked. Hinata put on an evil look and turned the knob to 28.

"Hinata! You vixen!" Tenten called out. Hinata blushed a deep red before returning beside her friend to continue their evil plans. Sakura sighed.

"What do you want them to do though?" Tenten cackled menacingly.

"It's obvious! SOME CHEMISTRY!" Everyone sweat dropped.

**WITH INO AND SHIKAMARU…**

"Damnit! I can't believe they did this to us!"

"Hn."

"You need to widen your vocabulary you know Shika."

"Hn."

"Are you listening to me?"

"Hn."

"Man… it's getting too hot in here."

"Hn."

"Is it okay if I take my top off?"

"Hn. WHAT?!"

"Just kidding. That was a change…"

**MINUTES LATER…**

THUD! Ino fell on the floor, face down. Everyone outside gasped, thinking she had died.

"INO!" Shikamaru rushed to his fiancé's aid. He began doing CPR procedures.

"OH MY KAMI! LOOK! THEY'RE FINALLY DOING IT! YES! GENIUS ME!" Tenten did her success dance. Neji ran to the door and opened it, Naruto with a camera in hand.

SNAP! A perfect snapshot of red faced Shikamaru locking lips with an unconscious Ino.

"BWAHAHAHAAHAH!" Tenten laughed herself silly, before falling into the pool. Neji followed after her. Sasuke took this moment to grab Sakura in his arms and jump into the pool.

"Wah. Sasuke…Sasuke….SASUKE!!" It was too late; she had already submerged into the water with Sasuke. She rose to the surface, Sasuke right behind her.

"Wah! Sasuke you baka!" Sakura splashed him and they began a water fight. The rest came in, Ino returning conscious again and Naruto hiding the camera in the ramen cupboard.

More than once, Sasuke had managed to dive deep below and pull Sakura down by the ankle. They then began the piggy back fight, with everyone on their pair's shoulders. Neji and Tenten were victorious the first round but were quickly defeated by Hinata and Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura were squabbling like the old couple and Ino and Shikamaru were too busy paying attention to each other.

---

Sakura came out of the bathroom, a towel sprawled over her wet hair. She advanced to the lounge room where the fireplace was lit and marshmallows were roasting. Neji was asleep in Tenten's arms while she read a book. Naruto and Hinata were spiking the sweet soft sugary sweets through skewers while Ino and Shikamaru had received a phone call from their parents. Sasuke was still taking a shower.

Sakura slouched onto one of the comfy couches, massaging her head. Tenten smiled lightly at her and continued reading. It was 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu and Sakura didn't even know what the hell that is. (A/N: -gasp- Noooooo!) Suddenly, Sasuke came out of the bathroom, his chicken styled hair back in place and wearing black sweatpants and a navy shirt. He sat beside Sakura and swung his arm casually over her shoulder. She accepted and lay against his chest.

"Ugh get a room you two!" Naruto called over from the fireplace with Hinata giggling. Tenten smirked while Neji kept on sleeping.

"Argh Sakura you're getting my shirt wet!" Sasuke cried out, examining his soaked shirt. Sakura laughed evilly and everyone started getting suspicious looks.

At that moment, Ino and Shikamaru came in, holding Shikamaru's cell phone. Their faces were ones of disbelief and confusion.

"Eh? What's up?" Tenten asked them.

Ino was the first to answer.

"My father…he said we're getting married next year…on my birthday!"

* * *

-EVEN BIGGER GASP THAN THE ONE BEFORE!- Oh dear… Ino's daddy has had a change of plans –wink wink-

Ah well, hope you enjoyed this chappy!

And sorry, for not uploading sooner!

Ja!

_JunsuiFushichou_


	14. Eternity's Love

Heloo just a recap of chapter 12…

CHERISHED WILL BE ENDING SOON REPEAT; CHERISHED WILL BE ENDING SOON!!!

* * *

**RECAP**

_At that moment, Ino and Shikamaru came in, holding Shikamaru's cell phone. Their faces were ones of disbelief and confusion. _

"_Eh? What's up?" Tenten asked them. _

_Ino was the first to answer. _

"_My father…he said we're getting married next year…on my birthday!"_

**END RECAP**

Naruto burst out laughing. He was rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach in pain while Hinata was trying to calm him down. Ino glared at him, hatred evident in her eyes. Sakura blinked absently at her, whereas Sasuke stayed silent, obviously not wanting to get caught in an argument.

"Naruto, SHUT UP!" Ino screamed. Shikamaru backed away at the blonde female to sit down on another couch. Naruto nonetheless was still laughing, and Hinata had given up, leaning against Sakura's armrest.

"So you're getting married in less than a year now… It's currently November so you have nine months till you're going to be husband and wife!" Tenten said happily, putting the book down to join in the conversation. Ino went to go sit down beside Shikamaru, her arms crossed angrily, still glowering at Naruto. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Tenten, we're on holiday. Don't remind me of Kakashi-sensei's classes. And I believe it's ten, not nine." Tenten stuck her tongue out at Sakura and stood up to grab a marshmallow, Neji falling down on the process. He fell down with a BUMP, injuring his skull.

"Oww, Tenten, next time warn me." He said grumpily while the females giggled and Sasuke was smirking.

"Oops, sorry Neji. Would you like a marshmallow Shika-kun?" Tenten offered Shikamaru a stick full of marshmallows. Neji frowned at the pronunciation of his friend's name.

"Woops, I mean _Shikamaru_, would you like one? Here, they're all on fire." She passed stick after stick full of marshmallows to the others, Naruto pouting at the loss of his marshmallow covered skewer.

They spent the whole night, talking about subjects and studies for the following year, the final year of school for them.

---

They arrived home the next day, to celebrate Christmas. Sasuke went overseas to America to visit his older brother and Sakura went over to Sunagakure to visit her aunty with Gaara. Everyone else had an ENJOYABLE Christmas with Naruto receiving ramen discount vouchers from his friends and Hinata obtaining a huge fox plushie from all of her buddies altogether.

**Weeks later…**

"Maan… I can't believe we're back to school…" Sakura complained, as she sat in the front passenger seat with Gaara at the wheel. It was his first day at Konoha High, for the first term back. He looked neat with his tie and blazer. Sakura secretly snickered to herself, as she straightened Gaara's tie.

"Sakura, I'm driving." He reminded her. Sakura bit her tongue as she sorted the piece of cloth out properly.

"We all want you to look extra cute for Shiina-chan eh?" He blushed, accidentally swerving too hard in embarrassment.

They both arrived at school safely, Sakura throwing up in a bush close by. Just kidding, she's cool. Well, anyway, Gaara came through the front gate, to have fifty billion female students run up at him, with stars in their eyes. Shiina waited patiently at the gate, smiling as she watched Gaara break through the sea of fans. He stumbled over to her, and held out his hand. She held it, her face beaming while the girls in the background had their hearts broken.

Sakura stood from afar, a dazed look plastered all over her face. Sasuke came behind her and poked her in the ribs. She jumped from the shock.

"Ow! Sasuke! That kills!" She complained again. (-cough- She's having that time of the month –cough-) He smirked and whispered in her ear.

"Meet me at my house at 9pm today, I have a surprise…" The bell then rang, causing Sakura to break out of her daydream.

They all entered class, this time having Mitarashi Anko as their teacher. She evilly glared at Shikamaru and Ino who could remember the last time they had received a detention from her.

"Well class, hello I'm Miss Mitarashi Anko. Please DO call me Anko-san, not sensei, I don't like informalities. And to begin the New Year, we'll just introduce a new member of the class. Come in, Tsukemono." A girl with dark red hair came in, her face flirtatious and her head high. She strutted into the room. Her enter attracted all the males except Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru and Sasuke. They all looked around broadly, not noticing the newcomer. She immediately spotted Sasuke and smirked.

"Hi everyone, I'm **Umesu Tsukemono**(1). My parents own an **umeboshi**(2) making company. Here we go. I originally came from Kirigakure which is in the north." She pulled out small containers, filled with umeboshi and she began handing them out. The middle row (The eight characters) accepted them. Sakura smiled at her warmly but Tsukemono ignored her. The pink haired girl fell back in her seat, disgruntled and grumpy. Sasuke put his arms around her in comfort and the new girl noticed, her face falling.

**LUNCHTIME…**

"These taste funny." Naruto said as he nibbled on the sour pickle. Sakura rolled her eyes and popped a whole one in her mouth.

"They're pickled Naruto. It's obvious that you've never tasted these, seeing as you live off a supply of ramen." Sasuke replied, closing the lid of his box and palcing it in his bag. Tsukemono came behind him and wrapped her arms around the Uchiha. Sakura's face turned red at the sight, almost beating the shade of the gift.

"Enjoying the umeboshi? GREAT!" Sasuke shrugged Tsukemono's arms off angrily and wrapped his around Sakura securely.

"Thank you Tsukemono-san, they're nice." Tenten smiled but Neji could tell it was forced. He knew Tenten hated it when her cotton candy haired friend had to fight for her love.

"Please. Call me Ume. We're all friends!" She grabbed Naruto and Hinata and gave them a bone breaking hug.

'Help me.' Hinata mouthed to the rest of the group, who were glaring at the girl with hatred plastered all over their faces. Ume left the group, to flirt with more boys in their class.

"Geez…hope Gaara's safe…" Sakura whispered as Sasuke loosened his grip on her. He nodded, his eyes following the new girl cautiously.

**AFTER SCHOOL…9PM**

Sakura walked over to Sasuke's house, easily reaching it as though it was written on the back of her hand. She opened the door, since Sasuke had given her a spare key. She then carefully stepped up the stairs, alert not to make creaking sounds. She finally reached the room she had always been taken care of in and turned the handle. She gasped when she felt a cloth wrap around her eyes. She fingered it lightly to find Sasuke's calloused hands.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'm here." He reassured. He then led her into a different direction.

"Sasuke, where are we going?" She asked a hint of fright evident in her voice. Sasuke smirked and said nothing. They reached the end of the corridor and Sasuke quietly opened the door and took off Sakura's blindfold. She gasped.

Candles lit the room, scattered everywhere. Sakura blossoms filled the room with a sweet smelling scent and the fragile petals lay on the floor and bed. Mountains of chocolate roses were on the bedside tables.

"I'm sorry Sakura. I'll be going to the US on your birthday. So, I'm giving you an early birthday prese -" Sasuke was cut off by lips crushing against his. Sakura closed her eyes tightly as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. They began a dance and he led her to the rose covered bed.

…_Autumn…_

**THE NEXT DAY…**

Shiikure sipped her coffee, as she stared out the window. February was the month and the snow was slowly starting to disappear. Gaara came down, yawning as he rubbed his aqua eyes.

"Where's Sakura, Shii-san?" Gaara asked drowsily. He sat on the kitchen table and gratefully accepted the cup Shiikure gave to him.

"She hasn't come back from Sasuke's house…" Shiiikure trailed off, gazing into the black liquid in her mug. Gaara shrugged and gulped down the rest of the beverage to go change.

Sakura smiled faintly as she snuggled closer to Sasuke's bare chest. He looped his arm around her, sharing the warmth.

"I love you Sakura." Her smile grew bigger as she whispered.

"I'll love you for eternity…Sasuke…"

---

Sakura gazed lazily up at the clock. She yawned widely and placed her pen on the table. Ume, who was sitting across her, glared at the emerald eyed girl with hatred and continued doing the Maths written on the board. Sasuke yawned too, and leant on Sakura's shoulder as a rest. She smiled and lay on his head in return. Ino and Shikamaru blushed and turned away, after seeing the intimate moment between Sakura and Sasuke.

"Well that'll be all for today. People, who haven't finished, please do this for homework." Kakashi said as he closed the orange book. He had become more perverted if that was possible over the holidays. Naruto grinned, and slammed his books shut.

"YOSH! ANOTHER FREE DAY!" He screamed to the world. Everyone glowered at him, obviously jealous that he was free. As the bell rang, Ume approached Sasuke and asked sweetly.

"Sasuke-_kun_, seeing as you're so _smart_ and _kind_, could you please help me tomorrow after school for this Maths? Please?" She begged, using the innocent puppy dog eyes. Sakura rolled her orbs and followed Tenten to lunch. Sasuke sighed and nodded unenthusiastically. Ume squealed and left, flicking her crimson hair in his face. He grumbled, picking up his books.

"So you're going to help her tomorrow? After school?" Neji said, raising an eyebrow as he picked out the chicken sandwich from the canteen. Sasuke nodded silently, bags clear under his eyes. Naruto squinted and asked.

"You did it with her yesterday right?" Sasuke jumped at how Naruto could find something out so easily.

"Shh it's a secret! Don't let it spread…" Sasuke ordered as he paid for the pizza he chose. Naruto grinned with malevolence.

"Ahh don't want the ol' fanclub after Sakura-chan eh? Don't worry, YOUR SEX SECRET IS SAFE WITH-" Sasuke punched Naruto's face to shut him up. Neji looked down on the ramen lover and they all left him. Shikamaru mumbled another 'How troublesome…'

Sakura dozed off on the canteen table, her face buried in the pile of books she forgot to put in her locker. Ino poked her with a carrot stick.

"Sakura, are you alright? You seem a bit tired." The pinky glared at the blonde, before banging her head down once again. Tenten rolled her eyes and pulled the pile off the table, causing Sakura have her forehead slamming onto the metal bench.

"Ow." Sakura said lifelessly, before fluttering her eyes closed again. Hinata beamed faintly, and continued eating her roll. Tenten sighed and slipped the books into her bag for her friend.

"Did she have the 'one night stand' with Sasuke?" Ino mouthed to the other two. They shrugged and maintained the conversation through mouthing.

_Blocked…_

* * *

-GASP- Sasuke and Sakura-chan had -cough cough-! But don't worry they're old enough… 

(1) - Umesu Tsukemono - Tsukemono is another name for umeboshi while Umesu is the ume vinegar.

(2) - Umeboshi - Umeboshi is a salty Japanese pickle from an ume plant. It's like a small cherry and it's salty, usually placed in bento on top of the rice to create the Jap. Flag.

NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST! -dramatic music- BUM BUM BUM! THANK YOU FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REVIEWED I LOVE YOU!

_**Sasuke8097**_

_**Arche-chan**_

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_**KentuckyAngels**_

_**Zuan**_

_**swimtwins03**_

_**tiffanylicis**_

_**Endless Dream-xx**_

_**i-have-issues-deal-with-it**_

_**lanie-chan**_

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_**sakura Haruno-cherryblossom**_

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_Loves and hugs, _

_JunsuiFushichou_


	15. Departure

THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF MY FIRST CHAPTER STORY! I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL MY SUPPORTERS AND REVIEWERS!

You make me feel welcome into this website each and every time you review and you inspire me to write more. I love you, and THANK YOU!

As I was saying or typing, this is my last chapter for Cherished, I hope you enjoy it just like I hope you enjoyed my other chapters.

* * *

**RECAP**

"_You did it with her yesterday right?" Sasuke jumped at how Naruto could find something out so easily. _

"_Did she have the 'one night stand' with Sasuke?" Ino mouthed to the other two._

**END RECAP**

Sasuke moaned as he woke up. The headache in his head was growing worse. He looked in the mirror to see his reflection. The reflection that so many girls wanted and lusted for, the reflection that Sakura herself loves and touched. He grunted as the headache throbbed.

'Is this a sign… is she regaining them…slowly one by one…' He thought, recollecting the pink haired girl from his past. He shook his head, and got changed.

'Damn… and I have the stupid Tsukemono to help too…' He remembered, pulling a face from the thought of the girl he didn't like much.

---

Sakura tossed in bed, as she tried to get comfortable. The warmth yesterday that Sasuke gave her was now a desire she longed to have every night. She then remembered the dream she had while sleeping during lunch…

_Older Sakura watched as the smaller one played with the raven haired boy. They were throwing leaves and smiling like as though there was no end to the day. It was clearly autumn, by the looks of the browning of the leaves from the tree and the garments that the two children were wearing. _

The word suddenly popped into her mind just like that…_blocked_. It was a strange one too, but she didn't know how. Her gut just told her it was special.

Suddenly, another word slipped itself into her memory. _Puzzle_.

She stood out of the bed, the thin sheet falling to the floor. She strode to her desk and grabbed the leaf of paper from her board. She then wrote the other words that had appeared to her.

**Serenade**

**Careless**

**Unseen**

**Autumn**

**Blocked**

**Puzzle**

Sakura examined them from a distance. She noted that there were 6 words but none of them seemed to make sense. She gave up and headed downstairs to have breakfast with Gaara and Shiikure.

---

**SOMETIME IN MARCH…**

Sakura ran to the bathroom. She could feel something rise through her throat. She began spewing in the toilet. She did it quietly to make sure Shiikure couldn't hear. She knelt down on the floor and clutched her stomach in pain. Her stomach was gurgling.

'No…it can't be…' She thought as she felt a shiver crawl down her spine.

---

**IN JUNE…**

Sakura sighed as she brushed the stray bangs that obscured her view. She leant over the text book, reading under the dim light of her desk. She blinked at the impact of the bulb and looked back up at the list of words. She put her pen down and made a face, thinking hard. The heat was really getting to her, and the window open wasn't helping either.

BRRIING! Her cellphone vibrated noisily on the wooden table. She reached out and picked up.

'Hello?'

'**Hey Sakura, it's Tenten.'**

'Oh Tenten, what's wrong? Going fine with the studies?' Sakura leant back on the chair, placing her feet on the desk coolly.

'**Yeah. Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that well… that Tsukemono girl's been asking Sasuke a lot for his help lately and… it's just getting suspicious…'** Sakura sat up and straightened her back.

'Why are you wondering about Sasuke's loyalty Tenten? I'm sure he won't cheat on me!'

'**I know… but it's just that…before you even came, he was dating a girl each week, but he'd keep another for fun! He was two timing with girls, Sakura. Well, that's all I wanted you to know… I'll let you study then, bye.'** Sakura was then left with the -BEEP…BEEP- She sighed and placed the phone down. She picked up her pen and began nibbling on it.

'Maybe… Tenten is right…' She patted her stomach lightly. She could feel the child swimming around. She has been feeling those strange cravings and Shiikure and her older cousin had already raised their suspicion levels. Sakura had been eating twice the amount of food and twice the amount of laziness had affected her. She had already taken the pregnancy test which she bought secretly. No one knew her secret yet; she was never going to let anyone find out.

---

**THE NEXT DAY…**

Sakura ran to school, her hair swinging wildly around her. The vibrant cotton pink hair stopped to a halt when she felt that sprain again.

'Damnit… not now honey when I'm going to school!' She thought desperately as she crawled to a bench. She clutched her stomach again, clenching her teeth. Suddenly, the Konoha High School bell rung. The pink haired teenager looked up and began running again. She didn't care if she arrived late, but to not turn up at the time your boyfriend requested was not good. She finally reached the gates and panted heavily, displaying exhaustion.

She entered slowly, seeing as no one was around. Sakura's face had a confused look plastered ALL over it. She turned her head left to right, to find not one soul. She bit her lip in hope that Sasuke was still at the lockers waiting for her. She went up the stairs and went to her locker, to find no one there. She then headed up to her homeroom, to hear a sweet melody coming from it. It was like as though it was luring her. She entered her homeroom, to find a horrifying sight.

Sasuke was on top of Tsukemono, an umeboshi evident in between their mouths. They were leaning against the table, their lips locked together. Sakura gasped and quickly shut the door in a hurry. Tears were threatening to fall down from her eyes but she managed to hold them in.

'I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry…' She ran down the corridor and hid in the closet where once she and Sasuke made out during lunch break. She took out her phone and clicked on the number, 'Gaara.'

She waited silently; hoping neither Tsukemono nor Sasuke would find her. Finally, Gaara picked up.

'**What's up Sakura?' **

'Gaara, isn't there school today?'

'**There is, but it's at 12pm. They announced it when you and Sasuke went out of English class to go to the bathroom.'** Sakura cursed silently, remembering that this week the teachers were having a strike.

'Gaara I need you to do me a favour. Please.'

'**Yeah what is it?'** Sakura muffled a cough.

'I need you and Aunt Shiikure to get all my stuff and meet me at Jiruko Station.'

---

Sasuke sighed as he handled his bag carefully. He went through the gates and went up to his homeroom. To his surprise, no one was there. He sighed and placed his bag on the desk he and Sakura shared. He sat down, his head leaning on his hand as he was tempted to go to sleep. Swiftly, the door opened. He opened one eye to find Tsukemono walking through. Her red hair was now put in a bun and she walked up to him.

"Hi Sasuke-kun. A bit early today hey?" He nodded at her and continued his sleep. Suddenly, he heard Tsukemono singing a soft serenade. Her voice was harsh and rough, but it was perfectly in tune. She paused and Sasuke opened his eyes.

Abruptly, he felt a pair of lips crush onto his. His eyes locked on the black eyes gazing back. He toppled over at the sight and fell out of his chair. Tsukemono fell down with him, with her body over his. She pulled him up and Sasuke swore he felt an umeboshi slide into his mouth. She began tonguing him, her lips dancing around with his. He tried to break free, but her grip was like iron. She fell back on the table and carried on with her smothering kisses. The Uchiha heir heard the door open, but he couldn't see since Ume was holding him down. The door shut once again and Sasuke managed to knock her off.

"F--- you! I knew you were no good from the beginning!" He yelled at her. He stormed off down the stairs, his back turned to her the whole way. Tsukemono smirked and whispered into the microphone hidden in her school shirt.

"Mission…complete."

---

Shiikure walked around the room, investigating Sakura's room for the last bits and pieces she needed to send. She spotted a piece of paper, hung up on the board. She picked it off and began looking at the words. She smiled secretly to herself and grabbed a pen.

Minutes later, Shiikure left, the piece of paper pinned back up on the board once again. This time, something was clearly different.

**Serenade**

**Careless**

**Unseen**

**Autumn**

**Blocked**

**Puzzle**

**Sasuke**

---

Sakura sat at the train station, holding the train ticket in her hand tightly. The small piece of paper on which she copied the words onto, was securely in her pocket. The pink haired girl then turned to the sound of two people. She looked up to find Gaara and Shiikure, holding one bag. They held it out to her and she accepted it gratefully.

"Your books are still at home. We'll send it as soon as you get to Konoha city." Gaara told her. She nodded slowly. She knew Konoha city was far from the area they lived in, but she needed to get away using the quickest route.

"Here. Take this. You'll need it. I've arranged an apartment for you with a friend of mine." Shiikure placed a wad of cash into Sakura's hand. She then took the school bag and gave her one swift hug. Gaara reached out to pull her into an embrace and gave her a pat on the head.

"Take care of yourself okay? Don't let guys get to you. You're still 17." Sakura smiled in her cousin's chest, feeling the warmth.

"Make sure you take care of Shiinatani ok?" She giggled as Gaara turned a beet red.

"Here." Shiikure handed her the necklace which she and Sasuke shared and she fastened it around the pink haired girl's neck. With one last kiss on the forehead from both guardians, they left.

---

Gaara fixed the seatbelt around himself. He watched as Shiikure turned on the engine and began driving away from the station. He watched as his only cousin disappeared from view.

"Aunt Shiikure, I feel like bashing that dick's head in." Shiikrue chuckled lightly as she turned into a curb.

"No need Gaara, this is probably enough punishment for him already." Shiikure then stopped in front of a familiar house, Tenten's. She pulled the brake and gestured to Gaara.

"The honours." He smirked at her and ran into the house.

---

Sasuke ran to the train station as fast as he could. He knew Sakura wouldn't leave him; he just knew it. Tenten had just informed him that she left, and gave him a look of disgust. He didn't know what was wrong with his friend but she slammed the door in his face.

He ran up the stairs, panting heavily, until he caught sight of the pink blob of hair. She stood there, holding the bag in her hands, patiently waiting. Sakura was still wearing her school uniform which made her look normal nonetheless, but in Sasuke's eyes, she was perfect.

"SAKURA!" He called out, the bag at his side bumping into his thigh. She turned at her name, her face pale and stoic. He stopped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Sakura, what are you doing?!" He asked, shaking her. She calmly stopped him, and slid his hands off her shoulders.

"Going away. I need time. Don't bother finding me Sasuke, you've done enough." She said icily. Sasuke stared at her in confusion. His mind suddenly turned to Tsukemono.

"Look, if you saw what happened to me and Tsukemono, it didn't mean anything! Please Sakura, I love you…" He trailed off when he heard the loud whistle of the coming train. She looked off to the direction of the train. She looked back at him and answered.

"I don't love you anymore…Sasuke."

---

Sakura sat comfortably in the seat, the sheet gripped in her hands tightly.

She now understood the words, what they meant.

_Serenade_… It was what led her to what Sasuke truly was in the homeroom…

_Careless…_ She was careless, to let the song lure her into its trap.

_Unseen…_She never knew… Never knew that how Sasuke could betray her like that…

_Autumn…_ Her child was conceived in late February. It was sure to be born in Autumn, or even maybe winter. It was still so far yet still so close.

_Blocked…_ Her heart and love was blocked from Sasuke's mind. He never cared. He just said those three words to trap her.

_Puzzle_…Her life was a puzzle. She thought everything that happened with Sasuke had managed to piece it up, but now it lay in ruins.

She looked out the window and sighed, watching as the sight of the mass of black hair disappear. She regretted what she said to him earlier, but it was for her mind to restore what it lost. Her memories. She looked down on the sheet of paper.

'Whatever these words tell, I promise I will find out what they mean…'

Sasuke watched as his one love was taken away by the train. He saw her pink hair disappear in the carriage. He sighed and pulled out the picture of him and Sakura. Every time Sakura ended up at his house, he always used the guest room. It was never his. Even on that special night, he didn't use his room. He wanted the memories to be kept a secret from her.

---

**TWELVE YEARS LATER…**

Sasuke looked up at the tall sky scraper in front of him. He entered slowly, holding the thin sheet of paper his mentor had given him. The revolving door opened, to reveal a woman with brown hair, cut short. Her unique amethyst eyes glinted in the building lights. She blinked blankly at him before leaving. Sasuke stared after her, before going into the elevator and pressing the level 8 button.

"So… you want to work here?" The lady spun around in her leather chair. Sasuke nodded slowly and slipped the note he held in his pocket.

"He said… you could help." Bellatrics took the piece and read it, processing the words into her mind. She sighed and threw it in the bin. She turned back to the man and answered.

"Very well. Welcome to Yearning Blood."

* * *

**END OF CHERISHED**

Hope you enjoyed the whole story.

There will be a sequel of Cherished. Its title will be 'Endless Path'. It's coming soon since I've planned and organized it! Look out for it!

Thank you so much for reading this story, I thank you SOOO MUCH! I LOVE YOU ALL!

_JunsuiFushichou_


	16. Endless Path

Hi everybody once again.

Just to let you know, Endless Path has been indeed sent out. Just to inform you! (:

Have a nice day!

_JunsuiFushichou_


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